White still with Canes - for now

NEWARK, N.J. -- As of Wednesday night, defenseman Ian White still was a member of the Carolina Hurricanes.

That could change in the next day or two. Or not.

General manager Jim Rutherford said the Hurricanes were considering a trade offer for White, who came to Carolina in November in a deal with the Calgary Flames.

"Teams out there are looking for different things, and we have something to consider," Rutherford said in an interview Wednesday. "This could go one way or the other.

"We have an offer, so we decided to pull [White] back for a day or two. But he could be back in the lineup this week."

The Hurricanes on Tuesday recalled defenseman Brett Carson from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Carson was in the lineup Wednesday night against the New Jersey Devils while White, who was not at the morning skate, was a healthy scratch and watched the game from the press level.

White, 26, has played in 39 games for the Hurricanes since the Nov. 17 trade in which the Flames sent White and forward Brett Sutter to the Canes in exchange for defenseman Anton Babchuk and forward Tom Kostopoulos.

With the NHL's Feb. 28 trade deadline approaching, speculation has heated up around the league.

Rutherford did not say which team made the offer on White or whether it would involve a player-for-player trade or a deal involving draft picks or prospects.

"There could be different scenarios," he said.

White has no goals and 10 assists with the Canes. He has 12:45 of ice time - his low with Carolina - on Sunday in the Canes' 3-2 win in Atlanta but assisted on Erik Cole's winning goal.