PHILADELPHIA — Canes goaltender Cam Ward finally will get a day off. He also will have the chance to break the franchise record for career wins at home.

Canes coach Paul Maurice said today that Manny Legace would start tomorrow against the Philadelphia Flyers, ending Ward's streak of 17 consecutive starts. Legace has not played since relieving Ward in the Dec. 23 game against Montreal and has not started since Dec. 12 against Ottawa.

Of everything Rod Brind’Amour has ever done for the Carolina Hurricanes, his willingness to turn the captaincy over to Eric Staal may be the most honorable.

That changing of the guard may have been inevitable, but no one would have held it against Brind’Amour if he wanted to finish out the season and make the transition, quietly, over the summer. Instead, Brind’Amour acknowledged that his generation -- the old guard of 2006 -- is on its way out in Carolina, and better now than later.

Rod Brind'Amour says he will not make a big issue of it, noting simply, "It is what it is."

The Canes' captain did not like being benched last week, being made a healthy extra against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a first for him, certainly with Carolina, and it stung.

But it's not as if Brind'Amour has been waiting a week to blast Canes coach Paul Maurice for the decision or turn it into a divisive issue in the locker room. In fact, he said Monday, the less said about it the better.

"It's a tough situation, that's about all I can say," Brind'Amour said after practice at the RecZone. "I don't want to be a distraction. It is what it is."

Canes captain Rod Brind'Amour was a healthy scratch for the Pittsburgh Penguins game Monday and may be a healthy extra again moving forward.

So let's call this Tuesday Talk and pose this question: what happens next, for Brind'Amour, for the Canes? 

Will Brind'Amour give up the "C"? Will he consider retirement? Will he be placed on waivers?  Or will he continue to work, rejoin the lineup, be more productive and go from there?

What do you think?

There was a positive twist to the Canes' practice Thursday: for the first time since Oct. 3, the entire team was on the ice.

Forward Erik Cole, who suffered a leg fracture in the Boston game Oct. 3, wore a red jersey, went through all the drills and could return to the lineup this weekend, either against Philadelphia or the San Jose Sharks, coach Paul Maurice said. Defenseman Tim Gleason, out the last three games with an upper-body injury, was back in practice and probably will return to the lineup sometime next week.

Forward Tuomo Ruutu will end his three-game suspension and return for Sunday's game with the Sharks.

As for the practice, it was intense, and it should have been with the Canes winless in their last seven games and now 13th in the Eastern Conference.

Sometimes, a few small changes can make a big difference. Coach Paul Maurice hopes that's the case with the Canes.

Maurice has shuffled the lines. He has moved Rod Brind'Amour from center to wing. He has Eric Staal on the point on the power play. He has the option of playing Jussi Jokinen at center or the wing -- the same for Brandon Sutter.

Will that translate into a victory Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues? No one can say, of course, but the Canes believe they're taking the right steps to ending their funk.

It's the day before the opening of Hurricanes training camp, so why not a few thoughts from the captain?

Rod Brind'Amour is starting his 10th season with the Canes and says he has had a strong offseason. Here's some of what he had to say this week after the last of the informal "Camp Brindy" workouts at the RecZone:

On this year's team — "We seem to be a real veteran team, and I like that ..." he said. "Guys know how to win, guys know what it takes to get the job done."

You've got a member of a George Soros-backed group and a Carolina Hurricanes hockey player among the donors in the District 1 Wake school board race.

Rita Rakestraw's donors include Gene Guerrero, a senior policy analyst for the Open Society Institute, who gave $250. The institute's founder and president is liberal billionaire George Soros, who is not exactly a favorite of conservatives.

Chris Malone has got some star power, namely a $250 contribution from Rod Brind'Amour, the team captain for the Hurricanes. Brind'Amour's ex-wife lives just outside Wake Forest with their three young children.

UPDATE

The Board of Elections says Karen Simon doesn't have to file until Sept. 28 because she hasn't spent more than $3,000 yet.

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.

Staff video by Chris Seward