Hurricanes entertaining trade offers

Last week's trade of defenseman Tomas Kaberle was the first sign that salary issues are going to matter as the Hurricanes go through what appears to be a dead-end season. That means more deals are bound to be in the works. General manager Jim Rutherford made it clear that dumping salary was the main reason that Kaberle needed to go. The Hurricanes picked up a fill-in with defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, who's a veteran of the league, but at age 37, by no means in the long-term plans. Kaberle started playing better after an unproductive couple of months. He was just good enough to perk the interest of Montreal so that a trade could take place. Now the Hurricanes will be listening to offers for other players, with Tuesday night's 2-1 overtime at Toronto probably not changing the big-picture outlook. The Hurricanes already have a young cast of minor-league forwards, so if they do trade more veterans, they ought to be selective in what they gain in return. In the meantime, they'll return for their first home game in nearly two weeks when they play Thursday night against Vancouver. NOTES G Cam Ward was back in the net Tuesday night against Toronto. It came in his first game since an uncharacteristic outburst when he was pulled for the second time in three games Friday night at Winnipeg. For Ward, it was an animated outburst rarely seen, though apparently directed out of general frustration without a specific target. At times this season, Ward's performance was the reason the Hurricanes were able to come close to any success, though that has faded as well. The Hurricanes have tried to mix a few things up, and that includes their practice routines. An attempt to hold an outdoor practice Sunday in Toronto, though, was nixed and the team ended up with a more traditional indoors session. The team had three consecutive days without a game while on a road trip, so there was an opportunity to alter the routine. PLAYER NOTES D Justin Faulk is a candidate to play for the U.S. junior team in the world championships in a few weeks. But that would mean gaining approval from the Hurricanes and the organization is waiting until closer to that time before revealing a decision. LW Drayson Bowman was recalled from Charlotte of the AHL when it was revealed that LW Jeff Skinner is suffering from an undisclosed injury. Bowman didn't record a shot on goal in more than 11 minutes of ice time Tuesday night at Toronto. C Eric Staal became a father for the second time (a boy again) and it came during a convenient break in the team's scheduled because the Hurricanes were on a three-day layoff from their game schedule. LW Jeff Skinner (concussion) missed the Dec. 13 game at Toronto and is out indefinitely. D Joni Pitkanen (concussion) was injured Dec. 6 against Calgary and has missed two games since then. He is out indefinitely. G Brian Boucher (lower body) was injured in practice Dec. 5. He returned to Raleigh for more evaluation and has been placed on injured reserve. D Jay Harrison (upper body) missed the last nine games. He's listed as day-to-day. QUOTE TO NOTE "It's been good having him as a sounding board. ... We have to start winning games, first and foremost." -- C Eric Staal, on the team adjusting after a couple of weeks with Kirk Muller as coach.