Canes forward Jeff Skinner and defenseman Joni Pitkanen have been diagnosed with concussions and will be sidelined indefinitely, general manager Jim Rutherford said today.

Skinner, the team's leading scorer, was evaluated Wednesday by Dr. Sandeep Gavankar at Carolina Family Practice and Sports Medicine in Cary. Skinner, 19, did not play in the Canes' last two games, against the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs.

"This is a big step back and you hate it for the players," Rutherford said. "And especially with a young player such as Jeff, at this point in his career. He's a player who plays so hard and loves the game so much."

At this point, the best thing that can be said about the Second Mo Dynasty is that it’s over. The Carolina Hurricanes hadn’t clicked under Paul Maurice for two full seasons and they were working on a third by the time he was finally fired Monday.

If the Hurricanes had held him responsible for last spring’s collapse and hired Kirk Muller this summer, when Muller interviewed for head-coaching jobs in Dallas, Minnesota and Ottawa, maybe they wouldn’t be in this fix now.

Maurice did an excellent job fine-tuning the team that Peter Laviolette left him in December 2008, and a surprisingly good job of making adjustments on the fly in the 2009 playoffs, but given the chance to retool the team on his terms, it was back to business as usual.

It’s decision time on defense for the Hurricanes, and it won’t be an easy one -- for them, anyway. For anyone who has watched this team this season, the choice is simple.

Joni Pitkanen, who has been out for two weeks with a lower-body injury, is close to returning, perhaps as soon as tomorrow’s game at the Ottawa Senators. When he does, someone is going to have to come out of the lineup.

Will it be the little-used Derek Joslin, who has only played in five games this season?

Or will it be the astronomically compensated Tomas Kaberle, who has only generated five points this season?

If this were strictly a hockey decision, there’d be no debate at all.

The Canes will finished up play today in the Traverse City (Mich) rookie tournament with a 4-2 loss to the host Red Wings and finished eighth. But the event is more about talent evaluation that results on the ice.

General manager Jim Rutherford said today defensemen Justin Faulk and Ryan Murphy have been the two most impressive prospects. That's not a big surprise  -- Faulk joined the Charlotte Checkers for the AHL playoffs last season after helping Minnesota-Duluth win an NCAA title as a freshman, and Murphy was the 12th overall pick of this year's NHL Entry Draft.

Murphy starred for the Kitchener Rangers (OHL) last season and arguably was the best offensive-minded defenseman in the 2011 draft. Many have wondered if he can follow the lead of his former Kitchener teammate, Jeff Skinner, and make the jump from junior hockey to the Hurricanes this year at 18.

Rutherford isn't ruling anything out but said the comparison was not "apples to apples."

I wrote Tuesday about how salary-cap inflation in the NHL has put a financial pinch on teams like the Hurricanes, and general manager Jim Rutherford admitted Saturday that the increased cap floor -- now up to $48.3 million -- was making things tough on Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos.

"As you know, the floor’s gone to $48.3 (million)," Rutherford said. "That raises our payroll just with that alone."

The Carolina Hurricanes' coaching staff will have a new look next season, but with an old face in the mix.

As expected, former Canes captain Rod Brind'Amour will take on assistant coaching duties for the first time. Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford also announced today that veteran NHL coach Dave Lewis will be an assistant on Paul Maurice's staff and will oversee the defensemen.

Rutherford said Ron Francis will become director of hockey operations. Former assistant coach Tom Rowe will join the team's pro scouting staff.

"With his knowledge of the game, his leadership qualities and his ability to communicate, he will be a great addition," Rutherford said of Brind'Amour, who retired after the 2009-2010 season. "He showed his leadership ability as a player and captain. I watched this year with how he dealt with his duties and I was very impressed.

"I feel very strongly that Rod has a great future as a coach."

Oskar Osala kept denying that he was about to leave for the KHL. The rumor was persistent but the Charlotte Checkers forward kept denying it was true.

Guess what? He's leaving. Osala, 23, confirmed today via Twitter that he would be playing for Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL next season. The 6-4, 225-pounder had 13 goals and 42 points in 59 games for the Checkers this season while piling up 139 penalty minutes.

"I'm excited to move on but hope to be back one day," Osala tweeted.

Canes general manager Jim Rutherford isn't so sure about that.

What happens with Jeff Daniels and Rod Brind'Amour in the immediate future remains up in the air -- there's going to be an assistant-coach reshuffle behind the Hurricanes' bench one way or another, with Ron Francis moving back to the front office full time -- but Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford has a lot to say about their coaching futures.

In his end-of-season media briefing Tuesday, Rutherford said he thought both Daniels and Brind'Amour would be head coaches in the NHL at some point.

It's a little later than usual, but Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford will make his annual end-of-season appearance with the media on Tuesday, the team announced Friday.

Typically, Rutherford discusses the season within a few days of the final game, but has gone through a prolonged evaluation process this year. He has also been spending a lot of his time watching the team's AHL affiliate progress through the playoffs. The Checkers are down 2-0 to Binghamton after losing Thursday and Friday in Charlotte in the conference finals.

Rutherford has some big decisions to make this summer, most notably the future of unrestricted free agents Erik Cole, Jussi Jokinen, Chad LaRose and Joni Pitkanen.

The Carolina Hurricanes' 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday wasn't lacking for stars or headliners from the home team.

Cam Ward, playing his 72nd game, earned his 36th win and had 42 saves in his fourth shutout of the season. Rookie forward Jeff Skinner scored his 30th goal. Veteran forward Erik Cole scored his 25th. Captain Eric Staal had three assists. It was a long list.

General manager Jim Rutherford said today that Ward should be in contention for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie and that Skinner should win the Calder Trophy as the top rookie. He also praised Cole, saying, "This is the best year he's had. The way he has played the game, being a good all-around player and being a threat on the ice all the time, this is his best professional year."