As expected, center Zach Boychuk did have a pin removed today from his surgically repaired left wrist.

The post-surgical procedure, performed Dr. George Edwards, will keep Boychuk out of contact work in practice for two weeks.

Boychuk, 18, was the team's first-round draft choice this year. He had wrist surgery in July after the Canes' prospects camp.

Here's some of the combinations being looked at in practice Tuesday:

Lines: Ray Whitney, Eric Staal, Patrick Eaves; Ryan Bayda, Matt Cullen, Scott Walker; Chad LaRose, Dwight Helminen, Sergei Samsonov; Joe Jensen, Brandon Sutter, Dan LaCouture.

On defense: Joni Pitkanen and Tim Gleason; Josef Melichar and Joe Corvo; Frantisek Kaberle and Dennis Seidenberg; Anton Babchuk and Bryan Rodney.

From Talking Points:

From the beginning, Jeff O'Neill had an uphill battle to make it back to the NHL. Few players can take an entire year away from the game at age 32 and get up to speed immediately. O'Neill couldn't.

The news that he and the Hurricanes had decided to end his comeback bid came as no surprise after Sunday's game. O'Neill was never a factor. He wasn't physical. He wasn't involved. There was no reason to go any further.

Read more here.

Canes center Matt Cullen went through a lengthy practice session this morning at the RBC Center. Cullen was blindsided Sunday in the preseason game against the Flyers and did not play the final two periods for precautionary reasons.

Cullen missed 23 games last season because of vision problems caused by concussions, and his injury Sunday caused concern.

UPDATE: Cullen said he felt fine after today's practice, with no lingering effects from the hit. "Everything's good," he said.

Winger Ray Whitney and defenseman Tim Gleason and Anton Babchuk, who all have been sidelined, rejoined practice.

Jeff O'Neill has decided to end his comeback try with the Hurricanes, the team said today.

O'Neill, a former Canes star, came to training camp as an unsigned free agent. The forward did not play in the NHL last season but hoped to win a roster spot with the Hurricanes.

General manager Jim Rutherford said that after Sunday's preseason game against Philadelphia, O'Neill met with team management and they reached a mutual decison to release the former first-round draft pick from training camp.

The Canes' roster now has 32 players.

Forward Zach Boychuk is scheduled to have the surgery Tuesday to remove a pin from his left wrist that was inserted during surgery in July. That means two weeks of very limited work for the team's first-round pick (14th overall) in the 2008 NHL draft.

Boychuk has been impressive in practice and the team is talking contract with him and his agent. No one in management will talk about the terms, but word has it the contract could match the one given Brandon Sutter, the Canes' No. 1 pick in 2007 (11th overall). 

We're closing in on the regular season and there still are decisions to be made on the back end. The defensemen now on the roster: Joni Pitkanen, Tim Gleason, Joe Corvo, Niclas Wallin, Frantisek Kaberle, Anton Babchuk, Dennis Seidenberg, Josef Melichar, Tim Conboy and Bryan Rodney.

So who's in your top six? Pitkanen, Gleason and Corvo are givens, but who joins them? And why?

Please have at it.

Now, the Canes' roster is down to 33 players. Nine were released from training camp after today's preseason game and eight were sent to the Albany River Rats (AHL): forwards Matt Murley, Jakub Petruzalek and Jerome Samson; and defensemen Noah Babin, Brett Bellemore, Casey Borer, Brett Carson and Mark Flood.

Forward Drayson Bowman will re-join his junior team, the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League.

General manager Jim Rutherford said today that the team was negotiating an entry-level contract with forward Zach Boychuk and hoped to sign its first-round draft choice. Looks like Boychuk will be sticking around a little longer.

It was an unsettling moment for Canes coach Peter Laviolette and the Hurricanes players -- center Matt Cullen taking a big hit and then being pulled from the game.

Cullen was blindsided by the Flyers' Nathan Guenin in the first period and did not play the rest of the game. Cullen missed several games last season because of vision problems after a pair of concussions.

"They checked his head for concussion symptoms and everything seemed positive and clear,'' Laviolette said. "It was more precautionary than anything else.''

AP photo

RALEIGH —  The Canes, with center Eric Staal in the lineup for his first preseason game, finally have a preseason victory.

The Hurricanes got a goal from Sergei Samsonov midway the first period and goalie Michael Leighton made it stand up against the Flyers.

The biggest concern for the Canes: center Matt Cullen leaving the game for precautionary reasons after a collision in the first period, and defenseman Josef Melichar being helped to the locker room after taking a puck in the face in the third.