Hedican is leaving Hurricanes, too

RALEIGH -- Glen Wesley isn't the only defenseman who won't be returning to the Carolina Hurricanes next season.

General manager Jim Rutherford said Thursday that Bret Hedican has told the team he's moving on, and although there's a chance he could end up back with the Canes at some point later in the summer as a free agent, he no longer figures in their plans at this point.

The 37-year-old defenseman and his wife, figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, have said they plan to leave Raleigh and move to Northern California.

Along with Wesley's retirement Thursday, that leaves the Hurricanes looking for at least one and possibly two defensemen via trade or free agency this offseason.

"I would suspect we'll add one defenseman through a trade, and if we have to add two, then maybe one through free agency," Rutherford said. "But that free agency is going to be tough this year with so many teams looking for them [defensemen], so I don't know what direction it's going to go. ...

"We need a defenseman that can play in our top four and play a lot. In Bret's case and Glen's case, they played in key roles. We can't just go after a depth defenseman and think we're going to be able to compete. We're going to have to go after a good defenseman."

The Hurricanes have three healthy defensemen under contract -- Joe Corvo, Frantisek Kaberle and Niclas Wallin -- along with two restricted free agents, Tim Gleason and Dennis Seidenberg. Prospect Casey Borer, who played in 11 NHL games last season, could be an option as well.

Also, Rutherford said the Hurricanes intend to offer Michael Leighton an NHL contract to serve as Cam Ward's backup in goal next season. Leighton will become an unrestricted free agent July 1 if not re-signed.

Leighton, 27, was the AHL's goaltender of the year last season and appeared in three games for the Canes with a 2.66 goals-against average and .897 save percentage.