Trade deadline looms for Canes

RALEIGH -- The Winter Olympics are over. For NHL general managers, that means another Olympian task begins.

In the next three days, teams will scurry to make trades and look to solidify lineups.

The NHL trade deadline is Wednesday at 3 p.m., but the break for the Vancouver Games - and the NHL trade freeze during the past two weeks -- will make the next few days extra intense.

"It will be an interesting time," Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Sunday.

Rutherford said he had received calls from 10 teams in the past four days - team officials were allowed to inquire about potential deals during the Games.

Veteran winger Ray Whitney has drawn the most interest, but Rutherford said he has been surprised when other Canes players were brought into the mix.

"I am getting inquiries on more players than I expected," Rutherford said. "That doesn't mean more players will be traded, but it's more inquiries than I anticipated."

Though Rutherford won't name names, trade speculation has Whitney being pursued by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings or Buffalo Sabres, among others. As many as seven teams may be after a player who has experience, has a penchant for making big plays and won a Stanley Cup ring with the Canes in 2006.

But Whitney also has a no-trade clause in his contract. He must approve of any deal.

"He holds his own cards," Rutherford said. "At one point we had a deal made, but he decided not to go."

Rutherford did not say which team had agreed to a trade, but it is believed to have been the Kings.

Rutherford has said he would not trade Whitney unless the Canes received a first-round draft pick in return, but he said Sunday it could be "the equivalent of that."

"That's the benchmark we're using," he said. "Whether it's a first-round pick or a good, young player, or a second-round pick and a good, young player, it must be something in that neighborhood."

Though the Hurricanes are long shots to make the playoffs despite a hot run before the Olympic break -- winning their past five games and nine of 11 -- such players as Whitney and defensemen Joe Corvo and Aaron Ward could be available.

All three will be unrestricted free agents after the season.

The Canes already have traded center Matt Cullen to the Ottawa Senators and defenseman Niclas Wallin to the San Jose Sharks. Both will be unrestricted free agents after the season.

But Rutherford would not rule out a trade involving a player under contract, either.

"The inquiries have included interest in guys who will not be unrestricted, and I was a little surprised about that," he said. "Not to say they wouldn't be good pickups, but it's something we're looking at."

Whitney, Corvo and Ward were at the team practice Sunday at the RecZone. The Canes on Sunday recalled goaltender Justin Peters from the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League.

The Canes resume the season Tuesday against the Maple Leafs in Toronto. Though there may be trade activity today around the league, Rutherford wasn't sure if the Hurricanes would be involved.

"There is no time line," he said. "We'll just have to see how it plays out. If something makes sense, we'll do it."