In 2005-06, the first year the NHL instituted the shootout to break games tied at the end of overtime, Matt Cullen led the Hurricanes to an 8-2 record in the skills competition, which helped the Hurricanes to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Since then, the Hurricanes haven't had quite as much luck. With Saturday's shootout loss to the Florida Panthers, the Hurricanes fell to 0-6 this season, surpassing the NHL record for shootout futility of 0-5, set by ... the Hurricanes in 2006-07.

I got a fair amount of email about my contention Sunday that if the Hurricanes traded up to draft Tyler Seguin, it would give them a 1-2-3 punch at center "as strong as" any in the NHL.

"What about Pittsburgh?" the emails argued. Well, yeah, the Penguins are better. But what about the other 28 teams in the NHL? That's a better question.

Matt Cullen had been in the visitors locker room at the RBC Center a few times during his career. But never, he said, quite like Thursday.

A month ago, Cullen was playing for the Canes, trying to help the team resurrect a season that began so poorly. Cullen helped Carolina win the Stanley Cup in 2006. After playing for the New York Rangers, he returned to the Hurricanes and was a big part of the playoff run last year.

Now, Cullen has a new team. Traded to the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 12, he'll do all he can to beat the Hurricanes tonight at the RBC Center.

"I've done this before, but it's nice to come back here because there are so many great memories," Cullen said. "This place has been really good to me and I had the best years of my career here, so it's fun to come back."

The Hurricanes have traded center Matt Cullen to the Ottawa Senators. In return, the Canes will get Sens defenseman Alexandre Picard and a second-round draft pick in the 2010 draft.

Picard, 24, has played in 45 games this season and has four goals and 11 assists.

Cullen, 32, ranks ninth on the Hurricanes’ all-time scoring list since the team’s relocation, with 181 points in 266 regular-season games. He ranks fourth among Hurricanes skaters this season with 40 points, and tied for second on the team with 28 assists.

"This is a hard day," general manager Jim Rutherford said. "It's a hard day for me, for the organization and for Matt. I thank Matt for everything he did for us. It's a tough day to say goodbye to him."

Cuilen will be an unrestricted free agent after the season and could re-sign with the Canes.

"It will be a whole new day come July 1," Rutherford said.

Rutherford called Picard a good, young defenseman who could "become a regular part of the Hurricanes' blue line."

The Canes picked up a second-round pick in a recent trade that sent Nic Wallin to the San Jose Sharks. Rutherford said the Canes might be able to parlay some of the second-round picks into a first-round selection.

Rutherford didn't rule out trading another defenseman or two.  

It won't take long for Cullen to return to the RBC Center. The Canes face the Senators on March 4 in their first home game after the Olympic break.

Although there has no official confirmation from the Hurricanes, it's expected center Matt Cullen will be traded today.

The Canes are expected to receive a high draft pick in return, although not a first-rounder. NHL teams have until 3 p.m. to complete transactions before the Olympic break, and the Cullen trade is expected to be Carolina's only move today.

Nine teams scouted the Canes-Sabres game Thursday night: Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Montreal, Minnesota, LA Kings, New York Islanders, Toronto and Columbus. The Sabres also are expected to be buyers before the March 3 trade deadline, but Cullen is not expected to be sent to Buffalo.

The Canes' Matt Cullen has heard all the trade rumors. He knows anything can happen, and could happen by Friday at 3 p.m., when the trade freeze for the Olympics begins.

But Cuilen says it's not hard putting that out of his mind and just concentrating on hockey.

"You just do," he said today. "That's the only way you can do it because it's part of the business.

"It's just one of those things you learn as a player, that you have to block out any distractions that you don't have control over. And this is one of those."

Talk about bad timing. Right when Matt Cullen’s left foot started feeling good, the Hurricanes’ season was over.

“It got better and better as the playoffs went on,” Cullen said. “Especially the last series, it was really disappointing, because it was finally starting to get to the point where I felt good again.”

After missing the final 11 games of the regular season with an injured foot, and not appearing at any of Carolina's morning skates or practices in the first round, Matt Cullen has spent a little more time on the ice during the Boston series.

Here's a good sign for the Canes: Matt Cullen was at the morning skate.

Cullen has missed the team skates and nearly all of the Canes' practice time since being hit on the left foot by a shot in the March 20 game against the New York Islanders. After sitting out the last eight games of the regular season, the veteran center has not missed a playoff game and in Game 2 against the Bruins, Canes coach Paul Maurice said he appeared to fully have his speed and quickness back.

"He said it was the first time he really started to feel good again," Maurice said today. "Confidence for him, for any player, is so big. I'm really hopeful, because for us to continue on we're going to need him to get back to that.

"I think he's starting to feel good about himself, which is a huge bonus to us."

From Talking Points: 

Matt Cullen has spent weeks dealing with a sore left foot after taking a shot in the skate on March 20. He just now might be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Cullen played his best game of the series in Game 5, which allowed Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice to swap Cullen and Eric Staal at center on Carolina’s top two lines, which created matchup problems for the Devils that night and bore fruit in Game 6 when the Ray Whitney-Staal-Chad LaRose line scored three of Carolina’s four goals and contributed on the other.

Read more here.