The aptly named mac rumors site macrumors.com thinks so.

They point to a series of patent applications and a dummy corporation as evidence. Read on and decide for yourself.

The Canes went into draft weekend looking to swap a forward for a defenseman as the rumor mill — the Canes were one of several teams linked to Vancouver Canucks blue-liner Kevin Bieksa — kept spinning, to no avail.

"There were lots of things talked about but I don’t want to suggest we’re close to something," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. "I talked to several teams, but there are other teams talking about getting defensemen. It’s a hard market right now."