Ray Whitney is headed to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
No, wait a minute, it's the L.A. Kings. Or Buffalo. Or Chicago, or ...
One thing's for sure: Whitney was at the Canes practice today at the RecZone. So were defensemen Aaron Ward and Joe Corvo, like Whitney due to be unrestricted free agents after the season and the source of endless trade speculation.
Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said today that he had fielded calls from 10 teams in the last four days about potential deals. But Rutherford said that doesn't necessarily mean anything will happen Monday, the day after the Olympic trade freeze ends, or on Tuesday leading up to the NHL trade deadline Wednesday at 3 p.m.
"We'll have to see how it plays out," Rutherford said. "It's an interesting time. It's always hard to read.
"There's no time line. We'll walk through it. If something makes sense for us, we'll do it."
Rutherford would not rule out a trade involving a player currently under contract.
"I'm getting inquiries on more players than I expected," he said. "That does not mean more players will be traded. But there are more inquiries than I anticipated.
"They do include calls on players will not be unrestricted. I'm a little surprised by that. Not to say they wouldn't be good pickups, but it's something we're looking at."
Whitney did not disagree when told Sunday he's received more media attention in the last two or three weeks than at any other time in the season. The winger is just that coveted given his experience, his offensive abilities and the Stanley Cup ring he has from 2006.
Whitney also has a no-trade clause in his contract, meaning he has to approve any transaction.
"He holds his own cards," Rutherford said. "At one time we had a deal made and he decided not to go."
Rutherford did not say which team was negotiating with the Canes but it is believed to be the Kings.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at
Comments
Yes AD
Mon, 03/01/2010 - 00:49 — esteban1949I would agree with you ...but you have to admit that at this time of year...it's almost like a texas hold em game...
The Canes are Good,My Grandkids are Better, and Life is Great !!
Go Canes !!
Trade Deadline Approaching
Sun, 02/28/2010 - 23:40 — abramsdougIt will be fascinating to see how it all plays out. One surprise to me is that I continue to read that Aaron Ward is likely to be traded. Certainly Aaron Ward has a body of work in the NHL that is vastly better than his performance for the Hurricanes in the first twenty to twenty-five games. I am hoping he will be traded and that he can end his NHL career on a positive note elsewhere. Whitney is likely to be traded, I think, before Wednesday. Corvo, too, is likely to be traded by the deadline.
I would not be surprised to see Yelle and Walker traded as well. Teams that have followed the Hurricanes might also be looking to pick up LaRose and Samsonov, despite the fact they have one more year on their contract.
My guess is that Jim Rutherford will be accumulating as many draft picks as he can; and that the Hurricanes next season will be younger, bigger, faster, and more physical.