With the 2010-2011 NHL season already nearly two-thirds finished and the trade deadline fast approaching at less than three weeks away, Carolina is making a move into the playoff picture in the East and also hoping to move some of their older, more expensive players.

With $9.6 million in cap space, according to CapGeek.com, to work with, the 'Canes have a lot of leeway in their deals and shouldn't have any pressing trades that have to be completed. They do have a few players who could be shopped, though, and some reportedly interested teams, as well.

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The RBC Center's goal horn is getting a good workout so far in 2010. The Carolina Hurricanes (22-16-6, 9th in Eastern Conference) are 4-0-1 at home this year and have scored 25 times in those games, an average of five goals each.

They've also scored 23 games in their last five overall as well and gone 4-1-0 in those, only adding to a streak that now stands at 7-1-2, including points in nine of their last ten matches. The run has pushed the ninth-place 'Canes (with 50 points) within one point of eighth-place Atlanta with three fewer games played, within three points of seventh-place Montreal with one game in hand, and within five points of the sixth-place Rangers with two fewer games played.

It also puts Carolina on pace for just over 95 points on the season, which should be enough to make the cut in a weak conference like the East which had two teams with 88 points make the postseason last year (oddly enough, they were Philadelphia and Montreal, the two eventual combatants for the Eastern Conference title).

A 5-3 win in Florida on January 7th followed by a 4-3 overtime win against Atlanta on the ninth and a 6-5 shootout victory over the Flames on the 11th composed another three-game winning streak for Carolina, only to see it end in a 3-2 defeat in Buffalo on the 13th. The Hurricanes responded with a 6-4 victory over Tampa Bay in their last game on Saturday night.

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Recovering from a two-goal deficit at the second intermission a game, much less a road game within the division, is always tough to do. Doing it twice in two days, though, is unheard of.

That’s what the Carolina Hurricanes have done, though, recovering from a 3-0 deficit during the first period and a 3-1 score at the end of the second period against Florida on Wednesday and coming back from a 2-0 deficit at the second break in Atlanta Thursday night.

Amazingly, they were the first two times the ‘Canes had won this season when trailing at the second intermission, and they cap off the Hurricanes first three-game winning streak of the season; all three wins having come on the road. Carolina actually has managed to earn a point in four games in a row, despite scoring not a single goal in the first period in any game.

Through six games in December, including five games away from Raleigh, the ‘Canes have earned nine of 12 possible points and pulled within four points of a playoff spot with as many as four games in hand (fewer games played) over other teams within the top eight.

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The Carolina Hurricanes, and General Manager Jim Rutherford, have known that they needed some defensive help.

They might just have found it in a very well-advised trade today with the Calgary Flames.

Both teams have struggled as of late. The ‘Canes have been outscored by a combined score of 15-3 over their last two games and have given up 60 goals on the year, tied for second-most among all Eastern Conference teams. Meanwhile, Calgary has lost six of their last seven games and have quickly fallen nine points behind Northwest Division-leading Vancouver.

However, the trade, in which the Flames send defenseman Ian White and left winger Brett Sutter to Carolina in exchange for defenseman Anton Babchuk and right winger Tom Kostopoulos, might have positive outcomes for both teams.

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The two players that lead the Carolina Hurricanes (8-7-0, 3-2-0 home, 5-5-0 road) in scoring one month into the 2010-2011 NHL season are the oddest pair. They each have six goals and nine assists, tying them for the top spot with 15 points each.

One of the players is Eric Staal, the ‘Canes current captain, and a former 100-point scorer, Stanley Cup Champion, and NHL All-Star Game MVP. Of anyone on the Hurricanes‘ current roster, Staal would be the most expectable choice for team leading scorer.

The other player, Jeff Skinner, is just the opposite. Only 18 years old, he was the seventh overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, and a surprising one and that, considering he was ranked far lower than seventh and the ‘Canes were supposed to be looking for a defenseman.

However, he’s already had an eventful NHL career. In only 15 games, he’s scored the Hurricanes only shootout goal of the year (in their only shootout), became the youngest player to ever score a goal for the Hurricanes, averaged a point per game, and his 15 points are a nearly double the second-highest scoring rookie (Edmonton‘s Jordan Eberle, who has eight points).

Staal and Skinner have been only two pieces in an unpredictable yet welcomed scoring explosion this fall for Carolina. Although the Hurricanes were a decent 13th in the league last year, averaging 2.76 goals per game, they’re fifth this season, averaging 3.13 to date. Even some of the Hurricanes most underachieving players from a year ago are contributing in big ways.

Some of those under-performers include aging Sergei Samsonov, who is tied for third on the team with four goals, sixth with eight points, and fourth with a plus-three rating; Erik Cole, who has four goals and nine points with a team-leading plus-eight rating; and also Brandon Sutter, a 2009-2010 breakout who’s keeping the pace going with eight points and a plus-six rating.

You could consider Tuomo Ruutu, who’s overcome a position switch to center to record nine points and contribute much  more on defense than he has in years past, including leading the team with 56 hits (23 more than second-place Tom Kostopoulos). Additionally, the newly re-discovered top defensive pairing and powerplay duo of Joe Corvo and Joni Pitkanen has begun to bring out the best in both, as they have five goals, nine assists, and a plus-one rating between them.

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Exactly two weeks into the 2010-2011 NHL Season, the Carolina Hurricanes hold the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference Standings and the third slot in the Southeastern Division with six points on three wins and three losses.

Their mediocre record is misleading, however. In fact, the 'Canes are off to a very promising start considering that they are starting four rookies, led by a 27-year-old captain, are the fourth-youngest team in the league and have not yet played a game within a 650-mile radius of the RBC Center.

Their two franchise cornerstones, center and captain Eric Staal and goaltender Cam Ward, have stepped up and taken leading roles as the Hurricanes move through a brutal opening stretch.

Staal, who was held without a point in the 'Canes two NHL Premiere games, now has three goals—one short-handed—and three assists in his last four games. Ward, on the other hand, holds a 3-2-0 record with a .923 save percentage even though he's been tested plenty, having faced an average of 36.2 shots per game so far.

Carolina is also getting a great effort from some unexpected players. First-round draft pick Jeff Skinner has been very impressive, notching one goal, three assists and a shootout winner as well. Erik Cole, who played just 40 games last season due to several nagging injuries, has also come out of the gate strong, scoring once and adding three assists and a plus-four rating.

Additionally, Chad LaRose, a perennial underperformer, has found his place lately, scoring two goals and two assists in this week's back-to-back. Now that he has found his typical chemistry with Eric Staal again, look for LaRose, who's already 27, to have a breakout year.

Anton Babchuk, who was in Russia during last year's disappointing campaign, is back and firing away too, with three points. He has also improved his defense, with a plus-two rating and 13 blocked shots, good for second on the team.

In fact, while players like Cole, LaRose, and Babchuk continue to show signs of an upcoming breakout year, the 'Canes group of rookies are also standing tall. Skinner, Jamie McBain, Zac Dalpe and Drayson Bowman have combined for seven points and a plus-five rating.

To be truthful, the whole team has looked quite solid through their first two weeks. Twelve different players have already recorded their first goal of the season, a good sign for the offense that they can trust on production from everyone. The team has been very willing to block shots in their own zone—they are ranked 7th in that category with 95 total—and to force puck turnovers.

However, they need to improve rapidly in three main categories. The first and most glaring is special teams, a common struggle for the Hurricanes.

So far, Carolina has scored on just three of 27 power-play attempts. That's a measly 11.1 percent conversion rate (19th in the league) despite having the seventh-most opportunities.

On the flip side, the penalty kill is even worse, having given up seven goals on 28 chances, a 75.0 percent kill rate (26th in the NHL). One way to improve that statistic, however, is to stop taking so many penalties, as they are sixth out of 30 teams in number of power plays surrendered.

The second major issue occurs in the faceoff circle. Although the retirement of longtime faceoff superstar Rod Brind'Amour was bound to hurt, the Hurricanes' pathetic 37.1 winning percentage in faceoffs is absolutely inexcusable.

That number is more than three whole percentage points lower than the second-worst team (Edmonton, at 40.2%) and more than seven percentage points lower than the third-worst team (the New York Rangers, at 44.4%).

The third and final problem that is readily apparent through the first six games is unforced turnovers, i.e. giveaways. Carolina is tied for fifth in the NHL in that statistic, having already handed over 58 possessions to the opponent, with wrapping paper and a bow included. They aren't nearly making up for those mistakes by creating takeaways, either—the 'Canes have just 36 of those.

After the Hurricanes seven-game road trip to begin the year ends Saturday night in Phoenix, they will return home for the first time. Unfortunately, though, that doesn't mean the schedule gets any easier. They will open up in Raleigh with a game against rival Washington and, after one day off, play a back-to-back against the Rangers and Penguins before a match in Philadelphia two days after that.

In order for Carolina to make it through the stretch alive, they will need to keep doing what they've done so far, in addition to making some big strides in power play, penalty killing, faceoffs and limiting giveaways. 

Still, there's very little to worry about so far. The first few concerns over this season's Hurricanes squad have been answered nicely...the next tests, though, may be even harder than the first few.

The Carolina Hurricanes flew into Helsinki, Finland, with four points and a confidence-building start to the 2010-2011 NHL season in mind.

And, as the back-to-back concluded Friday afternoon, they achieved exactly what they were looking for.

With a 2-1 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild to back up their 4-3 win over the Wild the day before, Carolina returns to North America leading the league in points. While it’s still a little premature to say that means much, leading the league was certainly something the ‘Canes never got to experience last season.

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After Friday's European Sendoff preseason game against the Atlanta Thrashers, the Carolina Hurricanes will board a plane to cross the Atlantic and prepare to begin their 2010-2011 regular season.

Hopefully, they can get off to a better start than last year, where the Hurricanes were last in the league for much of the first half of the season.

However, with a younger, fresher, and more talented roster composed of usual team veterans as well as the best new prospects from the nearly-done training camp, Carolina should finally be poised to start quickly out of the gate.

While this offseason wasn't a headline-generating one for GM Jim Rutherford and the Hurricanes franchise, the perfect moves were done to give this 2010 'Canes team a completely new look going into this season.

A plethora of draft picks collected through several Trade Deadline deals last spring were used to add even more prospects to the farm system, as well as fill a needed center position with seventh overall draft pick Jeff Skinner.

There were also several smart trades and signings over the summer to fill in the few gaps left.

As we grow closer to the NHL season opener on Oct. 7, a game the Hurricanes will play in, Carolina will have come from one of the oldest teams in the league at this point last year to the fifth youngest out of 30 teams.

Five players starting from Day One will be two-way contract holders beginning their first full NHL season.

However, the inexperience of this team may not be a harmful thing. Other than Skinner, all of these players have spent years developing at the AHL level, and have battled through a competitive training camp (which began with 29 players and 17 true contenders fighting for eight remaining roster spots) to rightfully earn a chance.

With that said, this year's Carolina Hurricanes complete season preview will begin with a recap of the offseason changes that took place in Raleigh.

That will be followed by a breakdown of each unit (forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders.

There will also be a brief preview for the Charlotte Checkers, the 'Canes new AHL affiliate, a month-by-month schedule analysis, and, lastly, three keys to success for the Hurricanes in the upcoming season.

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The Carolina Hurricanes added another talented member Friday to their extremely competitive upcoming training camp battle for the two remaining center positions.

The team signed 25-year-old center Patrick O’Sullivan to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay him $600,000 at the NHL level and just over $100,000 at the AHL level.

While Carolina General Manager Jim Rutherford indicated that O’Sullivan “has the ability to reach [the 20-goal mark] again”, O’Sullivan will enter training camp next week as just another face in a talented group of prospects fighting for the position, including newly-acquired Jon Matsumoto and Riley Nash, seventh-overall draft pick Jeff Skinner, 2009 injury fill-in Patrick Dwyer, and AHL “veteran” Zac Dalpe.

O’Sullivan will certainly have no guarantees of a spot. However, all the facts are pointed in the right direction for his chances not only to make the team, but to truly legitimize the Hurricanes’ final group of centers, already anchored by Eric Staal and Brandon Sutter.

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This past week, teams of youngsters from eight franchises got their first bite of pre-preseason NHL action in the annual Traverse City Prospects Tournament. While the defending 2009 champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, failed to repeat their title, the young 'Canes did come in with an impressive third place finish.

After falling to the eventual-champion Minnesota Wild 2-1 in their opening game, Carolina recovered quickly, winning a last-second 1-0 thriller over the New York Rangers' prospects and then finishing off the first round play with a 8-1 demolishing of Columbus.

The third place game against the Tampa Bay Lightning was another exciting affair, as both teams were tied 3-3 both after the end of regulation and the end of the first four-minute 4-on-4 overtime. Then, the 'Canes and 'Bolts got the try out the new test theory of a 3-on-3 overtime, and seventh-overall draft pick Jeff Skinner scored to seal the game midway through.

Skinner was one of many prospects that impressed the Hurricanes' staff greatly during the Traverse City. The Canada native had two goals and five assists to lead Carolina with seven points, while Matt Kennedy had six points and three scores to lead the team in goals. Zac Dalpe and Jared Staal, who will soon be fighting it out for an NHL gig, also combined for seven points.

Skinner stunned both AHL-coach Jack Daniels and Hurricanes' general manager Jim Rutherford with his precision, as Rutherford noted afterwards that Skinner was "...the best player on the ice" and is "a guy with a really good chance at making the team [this season]".

Newly-signed defensemen Kyle Lawson and Michal Jordan led the blueliners, combining for three points and an impressive plus-six combined rating in four games. Recent draftees Austin Levi and Tyler Stahl also made good showings in the defensive end along with high-potential prospect Rasmus Rissanen.

In goal, Mike Murphy, the 'Canes new AHL starter, played soundly, winning two of three games with a .963 save percentage, stopping 77 of 80 shots, and one shutout.

While much of the experience gained in this tournament will be put towards developing the plethora of highly-touted prospects in the Hurricanes' farm system, many of the headlining players from the Traverse City team are among the 46 players invited to the Hurricanes' NHL training camp, and several of them could have a good shot at the starting job.

Center should be the biggest position of note, as Jeff Skinner has decided to try for the team, in addition to some other worthy candidates in Jon Matsumoto, Patrick Dwyer, Riley Nash, Zac Dalpe, and newly-signed Patrick O'Sullivan, who has three consecutive 30-plus point NHL seasons under his belt.

Due in a major way to their impressive performances at the Traverse City tournament, a few unlikely prospects have also been invited in, such as defensemen Rasmus Rissanen and Kyle Lawson and forwards Matt Kennedy and Mike McKenzie, who is coming straight from the ECHL.

The preseason will begin Tuesday against Florida, and will be followed by a back-to-back-back from Thursday to Saturday, with two road games against Nashville and Atlanta and another home contest against the Predators. The Hurricanes training-camp roster will then play at Florida again the next Wednesday and finish with their European send-off game against Atlanta on the first of October.

With such a solid performance at the Traverse City tournament building confidence and creating a glimpse of what could be to come for this talented young Hurricanes group, there's no doubt that anticipation is building, not only for the preseason beginning next week, but for the start of the regular season, too.

Note: This article was originally published by the same author on another site.

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During the NHL lockout that cancelled what would have been the 2004-2005 season, the entire rules of the game were re-evaluated and changed to make hockey an overall better sport. The biggest changes regarded adding in the offsides rule and the shootout, but plenty of other revisions were also made.

In the five seasons since then, the NHL has been an utterly different game than it used to be. However, as discussed and tested in the NHL's Development and Orientation camp last week, the league is beginning to see some more changes, and also some reversions to the pre-lockout rules, might be becoming necessary.

An investigation into the factual reasons behind their suggested modifications took us into a world of calculations in determining an array of trends and streaks through the last five NHL seasons

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When the calendar turned from 2009 to 2010 last winter in Raleigh, North Carolina, the situation of the city’s one professional sports team was anything but steady.

That team, the Carolina Hurricanes, had begun the year dreadfully, just one season removed from a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. The ‘Canes were currently posting a miserable 10-27-7 record with just two measly wins away from the RBC Center. Further downgrading the outlook was the fact that Carolina had the second oldest average age out of all 30 NHL teams at 29.2.

But now well over seven months later, the Carolina Hurricanes are just a shell of their former over-their-prime roster.

Today, the new seventh youngest team is preparing for training camp with just 15 players signed to a one-way contract, leaving five spots available for prospects to earn during the preseason. While the ‘Canes still have nearly $12 million in cap space to work with, allowing for plenty of mid-season flexibility, the 2010-2011 Hurricanes have ridded themselves of much of the age weighing down their youth movement.

There are a number of youngsters already having secured a spot on the opening day roster. Jiri Tlusty, 22, and Brandon Sutter, 21, have both signed their first one-way deals this offseason, as well as 28-year-old former AHLer Jay Harrison.

Also this offseason, 40-year-old former team captain Rod Brind’Amour retired, accepting a staff position but replacing his declining former role with a new slot available for a prospect. 39-year-old Ray Whitney also signed with Phoenix, and while his departure may still hurt, this year was a good time for it to happen. 

Those two over-the-hill players will join a number of other “veterans” who were shipped off at the March 3 NHL Trade Deadline, a collection including Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, Stephane Yelle, and Andrew Alberts.

The prospects taking their places are still yet to be determined, but the battles will not be beginning without a lack of competition.

Prospect forwards Zach Boychuk, Patrick Dwyer, Jonathan Matsumoto, Riley Nash, Oskar Osala, Drayson Bowman, Jerome Samson, Jared Staal, Zac Dalpe, and Chris Terry will all be hoping for a chance to see some NHL action this season, and defensemen Jamie McBain, Brett Carson, Bryan Rodney, Bobby Sanguinetti, and Casey Borer will also be hoping for the same thing.

However, with a crowd like that and only five spots available, many of them will, at the least, not be making an appearance on Opening Day (which, for the Hurricanes, will happen in Finland). It will only be the best of the best that will see themselves filling a starting role for the first time of their career, and with the amount of talent on the waiting list behind them, they will need to remain the best of the best during their NHL tenures.

But we can’t get ahead of ourselves; training camp might be just around the corner, but it hasn’t even started. Everything is still up for grabs, and that “everything” is truly everything…even finding the top candidates to be the future faces of the Carolina Hurricanes franchise.

And thankfully, the ‘Canes have at least a few players who could very well fill that role someday.

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As a summer of surprises around the NHL rolls on, the Carolina Hurricanes have begun to quietly fill out their roster.

All of the Hurricanes' restricted free agents heading into the off-season have been signed. In addition, 15 players have been inked to one-way contracts for the upcoming season. However, with nearly $12 million left in cap space, Carolina has plenty of room to fill the remaining holes in their depth chart.

Many of the new-look Hurricanes players are also  younger than those who were starting in their places last season. Carolina has moved up from the second-oldest team in summer 2009 to the seventh-youngest team in the NHL today. Additionally, only four contract holders for the 'Canes are above the age of 30 (Erik Cole, Sergei Samsanov, Tom Kostopoulos, and Joe Corvo).

This plethora of prospects translates into a number of position battles as the youngsters fight for their NHL job during training camp, which begins September 17th. While that date is nearly two months off, competitions like these are already objects of speculation on the teams that already have determined much of their depth chart.

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