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WRALSportsFan

Rutherford: No Trade Yet for Canes

By Dane Huffman

Jan 28, 2008

The NHL All-Star Game, where general managers often talk trade, has come and passed, with the Carolina Hurricanes not making a deal despite a disappointing 24-24-4 record.

Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said Monday that he remains interested in a mobile defenseman to help a Carolina defense that has allowed a stunning 170 goals.

But Rutherford isn't combing Craigslist for a new player. Instead, he'll keep having conversations to see if there are possible deals that work.

“I had one conversation with one GM - the same one I’ve had about five or six months now,” Rutherford said of his trip to Atlanta. “And it ended the same way it all ended.
“I would like to continue to work on trying to get more mobility on our defense. And that’s what we continue to work on but it’s not easy. You have to pay a high price if and when they are available.

“And if get them, they get into high-rent district on their salaries.”

Rutherford said the Canes will continue to see appealing defensemen come available and may look to address that in free agency in July.The trade deadline is Feb. 26.

“We need it as soon as we can get it,” he said. “But we can only make that move when we can find a dance partner.”

In the meantime, Carolina returns to the ice on Tuesday at home against the New York Rangers and are back at home on Thursday against Toronto.

“The break was good for our team,” Rutherford said. “We had played more games than all other teams. We’d gone through the flu and several key injuries. Now we’re back to being healthy.

“We don’t need to do anything to change this team. It’s a good team. It showed it in training camp and at start of the season. It’s really a matter of getting that confidence and chemistry back and getting it geared it up again.

“We struggled to do that since the first month. We just have to hope this team can get its confidence back and work ethic and then we’ll sprint to the finish.”