It felt strange for Dennis Seidenberg to be dressing today in the visitors' locker room at the RBC Center.

Seidenberg, an unrestricted free agent after last season, hoped to re-sign with the Canes. The defenseman liked living in Raleigh, had some close friends here. But the asking price was too high and he'll play against the Canes tonight for the Florida Panthers.

"It's different," Seidenberg said after the Panthers' morning skate. "Being here for 2 1-2, 3 years, having such a good time, liking the area, liking the guys ... it will be different playing against them. I wanted to come back. But in the end, I'm glad I'm with Florida."

Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg may still be looking for a team to play for, but he has found a team to work out with for now: the Hurricanes.

Seidenberg, an unsigned free agent, was at the RecZone today, in a Canes sweater, taking part in the informal workout. And appearing a bit antsy.

"I was told in free agency it could take a while and just to stay patient," Seidenberg said. "I did for a while. Lately I've been calling more often just asking what's going on.

"It's now 10 to 12 days before (training) camp. Not to have a team is worrisome. That's the nature of the game and the business."

Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said the trade for defenseman Aaron Ward does, indeed, mean that defenseman Dennis Seidenberg it out.

Ward, a member of the Hurricanes’ 2006 Stanley Cup team, will be paired with the Hurricanes’ top-paid defenseman, Joni Pitkanen. Ward and Pitkanen both play big minutes, one reason they’re a good fit, Rutherford said.

“I have a lot of respect for him as a player,” said Rutherford. “He’s a big strong player that can play a lot of minutes. There’s no adjustment for him. He knows the city. He knows the team. He knows the system.”

Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg may not be a goner, after all.

Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said today that he has resumed negotiations with J.P. Barry, Seidenberg's agent. Seidenberg, an unrestricted free agent, went into the free agent market July 1 hoping for an increase on his $1.2 million salary last season but remains unsigned.

"We do have interest in Dennis," Rutherford said. "We had a conversation with J.P. on Friday and that door is open again."

Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, an unrestricted free agent, likely will not be playing for the Canes next season, general manager Jim Rutherford said today.

"Based on my conversation with his agent, and where they think he's at, he's a long way out of our reach," Rutherford said.

Leftover bits and pieces from Friday's exit-interview media availabilities, including Ray Whitney's thoughts on the season and Tuomo Ruuto on his popularity among Hurricanes fans…

The playoffs are filled with highs and lows — sometimes, just seconds apart.

For Canes defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, a low came in the opening minute of overtime Wednesday against the Bruins. Boston forward Milan Lucic spun Seidenberg around with a nifty move with the puck, then suddenly was one-on-one with goaltender Cam Ward.

With the RBC Center crowd in a collective gasp, Lucic's shot was blocked by Ward — in the Canes' case, disaster averted.

"I knew Cam was there so I was sure it wasn't over," Seidenberg said today. "It was close. I mean, he put a couple of good moves on me and I turned the wrong way. You just don't expect it from a big guy like that."

The Canes' 3-0 shutout of the Bruins in Game 2 was impressive and the Canes' improvement from Game 1 striking.

But where did the Canes improve the most, especially from a defensive standpoint, from the 4-1 loss in the opener?

"You have to look at the whole game," defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said after today's morning skate at the RBC Center. "We got the puck out of our zone, which meant less defensive zone time, and we had more chance of a rush. Just by doing little things, making smart plays in our zone and not turning the puck over in the neutral zone, makes a big difference.

"We didn't try to force the puck into the middle. The first game we skated up the wall and tried to make the pass into the middle and turned it over a couple of times. We didn't have any gap on their forwards. They had a lot of time and speed to go back and create a scoring chance."

Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said he hasn’t decided which defensemen will make the lineup in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Tuesday at the RBC Center.

“We’ve got seven healthy defensemen,” Maurice said. “We believe in all of them, so we’ll look at that for tomorrow.”

Center Eric Staal, after going through the Canes' morning skate, has been cleared to play tonight against the Phoenix Coyotes, general manager Jim Rutherford said today.

Staal had a hamstring issue during Thursday's game at San Jose and did not play after the second period. The Canes rallied to win in a 4-3 shootout.