The Canes fall to the Nashville Predators 4-2 in preseason opener at the RBC Center on Friday, Sept. 18, 2009.

First Look: See staff photojournalist Chris Seward's raw edit of 94 images from the preseason hockey game between the Hurricanes and the Nashville ... more

See photos from the 2009 Friesen's 5K Run With the Canes. Photos by staff photojournalist John Rottet.

Aaron Ward had a look at the Hurricanes from the other side in last year's Stanley Cup playoffs.

A defenseman for the Boston Bruins, Ward believed the B's were good enough, strong enough to win the Cup. The Bruins were the top seeds in the Eastern Conference, only to be beaten by the Canes in the conference semifinals.

His impression of the Canes?

"Gritty," Ward said this week. "They were steadfast in the way they played the game. They were very, very smart. We didn't take them lightly."

Scott Walker has been in the NHL a long time but never had a season quite like last season.

The Canes' veteran forward broke his hand in a fight in a preseason game. He suffered a concussion that knocked him out a big chunk of games in the regular season.

During the Stanley Cup playoffs, it was learned Walker's wife, Julie, had cervical cancer. There was his punchout of Boston Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward, who is now back with the Canes. Then came his emotional Game 7 overtime goal that beat the Bruins.

Given all that, what about this season?

"I feel comfortable that I'm where I need to be," Walker said today after working out at the RecZone. "A great mindset, with all the things that went on in the playoffs last year and with my family. It put a great perspective on life."

Some of the Canes took to the ice today for a 75-minute session of "Camp Brind'Amour" at the RecZone.

Working out today: Rod Brind'Amour, Ray Whitney, Joe Corvo, Nic Wallin, Scott Walker, Aaron Ward, Sergei Samsonov, Chad LaRose and Tim Conboy.

Making a guest appearance: former Canes defenseman Sean Hill, who is in town visiting his wife's relatives and dropped by to skate.

The guys were a little rusty, a little winded, but that's to be expected. Walker and Ward also did some good-natured ribbing in the room after the workout.

The Hurricanes' recent moves — the re-signing of Tuomo Ruutu, the trade that dispatched Patrick Eaves and brought Aaron Ward back to Raleigh and the buyout of Frantisek Kaberle — put a fine polish on what the Hurricanes will look like next season.

There may be some tinkering here and there before the season starts, but as things stand now, the Hurricanes could go into training camp on target and under budget.

Those moves also offered a look at what the Hurricanes' roster will resemble in 2010-11, when a few big contracts expire, the cap is likely to decrease and a few prospects may be ready to jump to the NHL.

If there is anything Frantisek Kaberle and Tom Barrasso have in common, it was that they were both underestimated during their time with the Hurricanes.

Both were in the news Tuesday, Kaberle because the Hurricanes bought out his contract and Barrasso for his induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

Free agency in the NHL is a funny thing. Very little ends up being as it seems, reason goes out the window and even mild-mannered men like Montreal's Bob Gainey end up flinging money around like a Sex and the City character in a shoe store.

As far as the Hurricanes are concerned, it's funny how much can change overnight. When we went to bed Tuesday, general manager Jim Rutherford's last public statement indicated that Erik Cole was ticketed elsewhere and there was a chance Chad LaRose might return to the nest quickly after testing the market.

By the time the biscuits came out of the oven Wednesday, the door was open for Cole to return and LaRose had been bid farewell. So far, that's what has happened -- Cole signed for two years at an average of $2.9 million a year and LaRose remains a free agent, with Rutherford now dangling an impending signing in front of the fan base.

The only free-agent shopping the Hurricanes planned to do was in their own backyard, attempting to re-sign Erik Cole and Chad LaRose before they hit the open market. That didn't happen.

When the free-agent balloon goes up at noon today, both of those players will no longer be Hurricanes -- temporarily, and in the case of Cole, most likely permanently.