Rutherford: Canes' goal remains the same

A year ago, after a round of golf and a few laughs, Canes general manager Jim Rutherford stood on the veranda of the Brier Creek clubhouse and deemed his team a Stanley Cup contender.

"All the pieces are in place," he said.

Some of the pieces proved to be a little too old, too brittle. The Canes, who spent almost to the salary cap in quest of the Cup, stumbled badly at the start of the season and never recovered, failing to reach the playoffs.

And this year, after all salary slashing and player departures? Rutherford remains optimistic.

"I don't think our goal should change," he said today at TPC Wakefield. "I do expect the critics to say because we're in a transition, we're not going to be expected to do as well. But our team, the way it's built, and with such key and character players. and the goalie we have, if we get in the playoffs we can contend for the Cup. So now we have to figure out a way to get in.

"We'll be a strong team and we'll compete hard to make the playoffs. And if in fact we can do that, then we'll contend for it."

Rutherford said there could be 10 new faces in the Canes' starting lineup, compared to the opening-day roster last season. He's also not ruling out a player or two who will be competing for Carolina in the upcoming Traverse City (Mich.) rookie tournament winning a spot on the team.

Rutherford said he had no new information on majority owner Peter Karmanos' efforts to sell 49 percent of the team. The Canes have set a spending limit of about $45 million on salaries this season in hopes of luring an investor or group of investors.

"I will say that with a lower payroll this year, we have a chance to compete," Rutherford said. "But I don't think you can compete year after year after year if you try to keep your payroll down as close to the floor as we have this year."