Canes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. was in town today and took a few moments to field questions from the media at the RBC Center.

Among the points he made:

-- Having an American Hockey League affiliate in Charlotte can help solidify the fan base in North Carolina. An announcement on the Charlotte team will be made Wednesday.

-- The Canes are optimistic about their bid for the All-Star Game. Pittsburgh, which will open a new arena next year, could be the Canes' top competitor for the 2011 All-Star Game.

-- The Canes now have a season-ticket base of about 10,000 season, either in full season-season holders or season-ticket equivalents. Karmanos said that needs to be raised to 14,000 for the team to have a more sound financial base.

-- Karmanos isn't that concerned that the trip to Helsinki, Finland, to open the 2010-11 season will lead to a slow start next season. "We couldn't do much worse than we did this year," he said.

-- Karmanos said he wants the Canes to continue to win games this season, but also said he'd like to have one of the top NHL Draft picks to help quickly rebuild the team. "We're bi-polar when it comes to winning and losing," he said. 

It's now official: the Canes will open the 2010-11 season in Helsinki, Finland.

The NHL announced today that the Hurricanes are one of six teams to be a part of the 2010 Compuware/NHL Premiere and NHL Face-Off. The Canes will play the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

Owner Peter Karmanos Jr. said the Hurricanes would play a preseason game either in Finland or Moscow. 

It will be the first time the Hurricanes franchise has played a regular-season game outside of North America.

Said Canes defenseman Joni Pitkanen: "It should be fun for everyone, an unforgettable experience." 

Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said today that the doctors treating Cam Ward's back injury want to observe him for a couple of weeks before making a decision on how to best move forward.

"After a couple of weeks they'll have a better understanding of his condition," Rutherford said. "They'd like to see how it settles down, then go from there."

Forward Tuomo Ruutu, sidelined the last month with an upper body injury, will be back in the lineup Tuesday for the Florida Panthers, Canes coach Paul Maurice said today.

"He feels good and strong," Maurice said. "When you look at the players we have missed out of our right wing, especially a certain style of player, he's got some speed and a little bit of bite and some good hands. We'll welcome him back."

Ruutu was injured during a Jan. 8 fight with Darcy Tucker of the Colorado Avalanche.

While the news on Cam Ward's back problem could be better than expected this week, the Canes also must be prepared for the possibility Ward could miss the rest of the season.

If Ward is out an extended period of time, how would you handle the goaltending situation?

Let Justin Peters get much of the work and look to next season, when he could be Ward's backup? An even split between Peters and Legace? Mostly Legace?

The floor is open.

The Hurricanes today traded defenseman Niclas Wallin and their fifth-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft to the San Jose Sharks for the Buffalo Sabres' second-round pick in the 2010 draft.

Wallin, 34, has spent his entire nine-year career with the Canes after being drafted in 2000. The Boden, Sweden, native ranks third among defensemen in franchise history with 517 regular-season games played and second only to former Canes defenseman Glen Wesley (729) since the team's relocation to North Carolina.

"The toughest part about this will be not being with the team that brought me here and taught me all about the game," Wallin said today. "We had a good ride. There have been some ups and down. We won the Cup. We had our run."

The Canes have reassigned forward Zach Boychuk to the Albany River Rats (AHL).

Boychuk, recalled Friday from the Rats, had a hand in road victories over the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders.  He had assists in both games, including one on Patrick Dwyer's winning goal Saturday against the Islanders.

Canes coach Paul Maurice said Saturday that he expected forward Tuomo Ruutu to rejoin the lineup this coming week.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Justin Peters made his NHL debut Saturday, and
the Carolina Hurricanes goaltender wanted to remember it for all the
right reasons.

The Hurricanes made sure that he will, topping the struggling New York Islanders 3-1 Saturday at Nassau Coliseum.

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward will see a back specialist Monday, general manager Jim Rutherford said today.

 "Until we learn something from the doctor, we don't have any other update," Rutherford said. "But we are very concerned about this injury. Based on the symptoms, it is not related to the injury of a year ago."

Ward returned to Raleigh on Friday from Buffalo because of the back issues. He played in road games in Edmonton and Calgary this week but experienced discomfort on the flight Thursday from Calgary to Buffalo.

Rutherford said he was not sure about the seriousness of the injury, but that it was not related to his previous back problems. Ward has been slowed by back spasms, during last year's Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals and again in the Team Canada Olympic orientation camp last summer.

-- Chip Alexander

BUFFALO — At a little after 10 a.m. Friday, the Canes' Cam Ward took a cab to the airport, headed back to Raleigh with an injury.

At a little after 7 p.m., Manny Legace took a slapshot in the throat at the end of the pregame warmup at HSBC Arena. He was knocked to the ice, then needed help from trainers to get back to the bench and to the locker room.

For a few fleeting seconds, it appeared Justin Peters might get his first NHL start a lot sooner than anyone expected -- against the Sabres. Peters, called up Friday from Albany
(AHL), may start Saturday against the New York Islanders, but he almost had that moved up a day.

Then again, as Legace later put it, "It probably would have taken a bullet between the eyes to keep me out."