A recent article has new Hurricanes prospect Riley Nash talking on plans of his future after he attends the summer prospects camp this week.  Hopefully Pete Friesen won't run the kid into the ground while the team brass does the sale-job on leaving Cornell.

From the Kamloops Daily News:

Nash is confident that when the time comes, he’ll be able to play with the big boys.

“I can definitely play with top-end guys,” Nash says of his progress over his three seasons at Cornell, which is located in Ithaca, N.Y. “I’m a two-way player so I feel I can take what they do best away and then counter-punch that with my offensive ability. I’m bigger, stronger . . . I don’t get pushed around nearly as much and as easy.”

Nash leaves Kamloops on Tuesday, headed for Raleigh, N.C., and the Hurricanes’ summer camp, where he will get a chance to “see their guys and see what they have in store.”

Then, he says, “I’ll probably decide after that . . . if I’ll head there or go back to school.”

It is a rather huge decision.

“A Cornell degree is a pretty powerful thing in today’s work force,” says Nash, who is studying applied economics and management. “Jobs not being all that abundant, it means that much more. It’s not something you just give up easily.”

If he chooses to return to school, though, he’ll have to go it alone. Perhaps the main reason that Nash chose to attend Cornell was the presence of Brendon, a defenceman who signed an NHL deal with the Montreal Canadiens after completing his senior year.

via farm4.static.flickr.com

Some good news out of Albany as Casey Borer has finally returned to skating with his teammates after a tough stretch in his road to recovery:

Borer, 24, returned to the ice this week and was practicing Thursday at Times Union Center with the Rats. He is still at least a month from returning to game action after having surgery Sept. 22, but he savors what he has on and off the ice a lot more.

"I'm really lucky to come out of it and still be able to walk and talk and breathe," said Borer, a 2004 third-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes. "At first I was more worried about playing hockey, but when you look back at it, just be thankful for what you have. I'm very appreciative I'm in this situation where I can attempt to come back."

Borer was the most critically injured among the 29 people aboard the team bus that crashed on its side on a snowy early morning along the Massachusetts Turnpike.

He began skating lightly in April and expected to be at full speed for training camp, but over the summer he said that he felt something wasn't quite right.

Borer went to three doctors in his home area of Minneapolis for second opinions, and each told him something different.

"I was pumped for training camp," he said. "I got hurt in February. That's a long time not to play. I was ready to go. I was home, and something's not right. I'm just going to get a second opinion. Luckily I did. I went to a couple of different doctors. Everyone was telling me different stuff.

"It got to the point where, all right, I have three opinions back home now, I've got to call the team and tell them that something went awry, whether it was the healing process or the original diagnosis. They had their guys look at it, and they agreed with what was said back in Minnesota. From my understanding, I would have been a risk factor without (surgery).

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=873735&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=12/4/2009#ixzz0YyFuebNm

Per Chip Alexander's twitter page:

Hurricanes are expected to sign a goaltender. Rutherford did not name any names but a best guess could be Manny Legace.

Cam Ward could be sidelined for a month, GM Jim Rutherford said this afternoon. Not considered a season-ending injury.about 2 hours ago from web

Legace is now playing with the Chicago Wolves (AHL).

That's my best guess, not Rutherford's.

This is a slap in the face to Mike Murphy and especially Justin Peters in some ways - but a steady veteran netminder couldn't hurt the team.  What is there to lose?  

And uhhh, would Eddie Belfour consider leaving the Stars' coaching system?  Maybe all the players need is a good drinkin' buddy.  

via upload.wikimedia.org

I'd say the Los Angeles Kings are happy with their trade compensation so far.  J-Will should be pretty happy on the top line with Kopitar and Ryan Smyth, too. 

From Fanhouse:

Today, Smyth and his tormentor, budding NHL star center Anze Kopitar, are on the same line for the Los Angeles Kings.

Two years after signing with the Avalanche as a free agent, the 33-year old Smyth found himself on the worst team in the Western Conference, with a franchise in need of a major overhaul.

Salvation came in the form of a trade offer on July 11 from Kings GM Dean Lombardi. Smyth possessed a no-move clause in his Colorado contract and could have blocked the deal, but after talking it over with his wife he gave the trade his blessing and his family was on its way to California.

On the first day of training camp, coach Terry Murray placed the veteran left wing on a line with Kopitar and Justin Williams and they have not been split up since. Four games into the season, Smyth has four goals and three assists and the 22-year-old Kopitar is 3-6-9.

"We've clicked well," Smyth said Monday afternoon before the Kings faced the New York Islanders. "The thing with Anze is, the puck doesn't die with him. He always makes the complete play."

For his and their sake, here's hoping Justin can keep healthy.  Three words come to mind about Williams' play in Los Angeles "Under the radar". 

stick-tap to Empty Netters.

from South Florida Sun-Sentinel via Kukla:

 

 The Panthers are close to signing free-agent defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and a deal is imminent, an NHL source said Sunday. 

According to the source, the team and Seidenberg's agent, J.P. Barry, have been feverishly negotiating and have agreed to a one-year contract. They just need to settle on salary before the contract is finalized, which could happen as early as today. 

Seidenberg's signing would be a boon for the Panthers. The 28-year-old German is coming off the best season of his career, scoring five goals and 30 points in 70 games while averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time for the Carolina Hurricanes. 

The Panthers have been looking to add another experienced blue-liner to help compensate for the loss of two-time All-Star Jay Bouwmeester, now in Calgary. 

It's the void everyone has wondered about since Florida had to trade away its best blue-liner this summer to avoid losing him in free agency. 

Good luck to Dennis - but that's some rather giant shoes to be filling in Bouwmeester's absence in Sunrise.  

Please let this be happening.  Sorry Kabs, but you and your contract need to find a new home.  Russia is a splendid place to make that happen, seeing as JR hasn't been able to send you anywhere else in the NHL. 

From Dmitry C:via Puck Daddy

Omsk region governor's hockey advisor Anatoli Bardin, who not long ago was President of Avangard Omsk, spoke with Dmitry Ponomarenko of Sovetsky Sport and said that the team is in negotiations with two NHL players:

"We would like to see the Carolina Hurricanes defenseman František Kaberle and the Washington Capitals forward Michael Nylander in Avangard Omsk."

It might downright kill me to see #59 in any other team's uniform.  Get used to seeing this kind of stuff in the coming months:

From Scotty Hockey's list of free agents that the Rangers should look at this offseason:

3- Chad LaRose, Carolina: A rough and tumble power winger who is unafraid to shoot or go to the tough areas to make plays, LaRose can't fight but shows a never-say-die attitude out on the ice. He is entering his prime at 27 and made $875k last year. He had just 31 points in 81 regular season games but stepped up his level of play in the postseason and collected 11 in 18. Canes fans call this guy the Chuck Norris of hockey and let's face it, that's pretty damn awesome.

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We've all been wondering who/what/why/where Peter Laviolette's next job would be after his firing from Carolina.  Turns out that it's going to be on the tee and vee:

From Puck Daddy:

Also, TSN will be debuting the War Room Panel featuring former Tampa Bay general manager Jay Feaster, ex-Carolina Hurricanes head coach Peter Laviolette, and Matthew Barnaby.

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