Canes coach Paul Maurice said today that Justin Peters would start in goal Saturday against the Florida Panthers, with Manny Legace in net Sunday in Atlanta against the Thrashers.
The Canes' seven-game winning streak has come with goaltender Cam Ward sidelined with a back injury. Legace picked up his fourth win in the streak Thursday as Carolina topped Ottawa 4-1.
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
Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason was added to the roster of the U.S. Olympic hockey team today.
Gleason is taking the place of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on Jan. 2.
The Carolina Hurricanes announced this morning that another five players have been assigned to the Albany (N.Y.) River Rats, the club's American Hockey League affiliate.
With the cuts, the Canes are left with 27 players in training camp, including young centers Brandon Sutter, 20, and Zach Boychuk, 19.
The five players assigned to Albany were: forwards Drayson Bowman and Steven Goetzen; defensemen Bryan Rodney and Brett Carson; and goaltender Justin Peters. The River Rats' training camp opens Wednesday.
Defenseman Anton Babchuk now has a new agent and intends to stay in the NHL, Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said today. It just won't be with Carolina.
Rutherford said Babchuk, who had been represented by Jay Grossman, hired Don Meehan of Newport Sports Management last week. Rutherford said he has talked with Meehan about Babchuk this week.
"We'd like to get Anton's situation cleared up and there's been more action in the last week," Rutherford said. "He wants to stay in the league and not go back to Russia."
The Carolina Hurricanes released today the schedule for their Raleigh training camp, which opens Sept. 12 with player physicals.
The first official practice will be the following day (Sunday, Sept. 13), beginning at 10 a.m. at the RBC Center. The Hurricanes will host the Nashville Predators five days later (Sept. 18) in their first exhibition game.
The team will host its annual Caniac Carnival at the RBC Center on Sept. 20, with rides, live music and an autograph session with select Hurricanes playes scheduled for the free event. You'll find a link to the full training camp schedule here.
RALEIGH — Aaron Ward was on the seventh hole of MacGregor Downs Country Club in Cary, playing with a member of Kid Rock’s band, when his cell phone rang this morning.
The number was familiar, and he didn’t have a good feeling about.
“It was [Boston Bruins general manager] Peter Chiarelli, and I knew it wasn’t good when your general manager calls you in the middle of the summer,” said Ward at a press conference at RBC Center Friday.
The news wasn’t all bad, as disappointing as it was to learn he was no longer with the Bruins. He was coming back to the Carolina Hurricanes, where he helped win a Stanley Cup in 2006 and still lives in the offseason. The Bruins shipped him back for a fourth round pick and forward Patrick Eaves, who they immediately placed on waivers.
Canes prospects get a chance to shine as the conditioning camp at the RecZone in Raleigh begins on Tuesday, July, 15, 2009.
The Hurricanes have signed former Phoenix Coyotes right wing Steven Goertzen to a one-year, two-way contract.
The deal pays the 25-year-old Goertzen $500,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 should he land with the Canes' American Hockey League affiliate next season.
Goertzen played 16 games with the Coyotes last season, scoring two goals and recording two assists. Playing the rest of the season with the Coyotes' AHL affiliate, the 6-foot-2, 216-pound wing scored six goals and earned eight assists, totaling 90 penalty minutes in 57 AHL games.
Is this it for the Canes? Come back at 3 p.m. to talk online with N&O hockey writer Chip Alexander about tonight's Game 4 and what Carolina has to do to avoid getting swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Just click here later this afternoon to join the chat.
