With all of Carolina's top-nine forwards back for this season, and no new arrivals in that group, which players would fit the best on either side of Eric Staal?

Ray Whitney and Tuomo Ruutu, who will probably start there? Or some other combination of Erik Cole, Chad LaRose, Sergei Samsonov, Jussi Jokinen and Scott Walker?

Fire away.

Exit Anton Babchuk and Dennis Seidenberg. Enter Aaron Ward and Andrew Alberts.

Question: Do the changes on defense leave the Hurricanes better equipped to handle teams like the Penguins?

Fire away.

We know the opponent, know the seedings and know the playoff schedule. It's the Canes and Devils, again, and it starts Wednesday in Newark.

So let's keep it short and simple today:

What do you like the most about the Canes heading into the playoffs and what worries you the most? Can they make a deep run, even grab the Cup again, or could it be one and done?

The floor is open.

We all know there are five games still to be played, anything can happen, the Canes have fallen short before, there's a lot of hockey left — all that.

But let's say the Canes do make the Stanley Cup playoffs. We've seen 'em play the Bruins, Caps, Devils and Flyers.

Question: Should the Canes make it, which team would they match up best against in the first round, and why?

The floor is open.

Of all the trophies awarded in voting by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the Masterton Trophy may be the most sentimental.

Honoring late North Stars center Bill Masterton, who died in 1968 after hitting his head on the ice, it recognizes perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

(Click read more for more background, including a list of Carolina's nominees.)

Special Bonus Question: Who should be the Hurricanes' nominee for the Masterton Trophy?

The floor is open.

The Canes' Rod Brind'Amour is minus-26 for the season, last in the league, after his minus-3 game Saturday in the 4-2 loss to Boston. He also is second in the NHL in faceoff percentage. He serves as team captain. He's played with a broken nose, with a sore knee.

Brind'Amour says the plus/minus can be a misleading stat. Coach Paul Maurice agrees. Sometimes, they say, the intangibles, on and off the ice, are as important as a tangible statistic.

What are your thoughts -- on the plus/minus, on Brind'Amour's play this season?

The floor is open.

The decision has been made and the change made. Peter Laviolette is gone and Paul Maurice is back as coach. The Canes are moving on.

Was firing Laviolette the right move? Was it the right time? What about bringing back Maurice a second time? Was that the right call, or should the Canes have hired someone else?

You've had a few days, and a few games now, to digest it and mull it over.

The floor is open.

What to do? The Canes ended November in a deep power-play funk, 0-for-their-last-25. Nor do they have an answer as to what's wrong.

"If I knew it, it'd be fixed already," forward Ray Whitney said Sunday. "You don't need to ask anymore about those."

If you were Peter Laviolette, what would your top power-play unit be? Who'd be on the point? What would you change?

The floor is open.

OK, what is it? Why all the injuries?

When Justin Williams tore his Achilles last week, it was called a fluke thing. But considering all the Canes' injuries in the last year or so, was it?

Bad luck? On Saturday, a black cat was seen wandering among the players' cars and trucks at the RBC Center. Could it be something about the Canes' training regimen? Just coincidence? Or is it just hockey?

All theories are welcome.

The Hurricanes led the Southeast Division almost all of last season, but we know how that turned out: no division title, no playoffs.

But what about this season? The Washington Capitals have dynamic Alex Ovechkin and a good, strong cast. At Tampa Bay, new owner Oren Koules has been spending money like he produced The Dark Knight and Hancock.

Will the Canes win the division? Why or why not? The floor is open.