The Hurricanes received their Stanley Cup rings in a private ceremony Monday night. Doug Weight, Mark Recchi and Josef Vasicek all were scheduled to make special trips to Raleigh, with former assistant trainer Chris Stewart, now the Pittsburgh Penguins' trainer, flying in with Recchi.

Matt Cullen, Martin Gerber, Aaron Ward and Oleg Tverdovksky were unable to attend due to commitments with their new teams. ...

Despite an impressive camp, left wing Ryan Bayda was reassigned Monday to Albany (AHL), his roster spot gone after Friday's trade.

"He had a great camp, turned a lot of heads and put himself back on the map," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said.

NUMBER TO KNOW

38

The age of Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley who celebrated his birthday Monday.

Only 11 NHL players are older: Atlanta forward Scott Mellanby (40), Buffalo defenseman Teppo Numminen (38), Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios (44), Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek (41), Florida goalie Ed Belfour (41), Florida center Joe Nieuwendyk (40), Florida forward Gary Roberts (40), Phoenix goalie Curtis Joseph (39), Pittsburgh forward Mark Recchi (38), Tampa Bay forward Robert DiMaio (38), and Vancouver goalie Wade Flaherty (38).

SPOTLIGHT ON

JUSTIN WILLIAMS

RW * 6-1 * 195 * 24

He came into last year's training camp determined to carve out a role, and after compiling a career-high 76 points, the Hurricanes rewarded Williams after the Stanley Cup with a five-year contract worth $3.5 million annually.

The multiyear deal brought comfort but not complacency, Williams said. In three preseason games, Williams had two goals and an assist.

"With comfort also comes responsibility," said Williams, who scored 31 goals last regular season and another seven during the playoffs.

"Myself and a few other guys have been given a lot of confidence [by the Hurricanes], and this team has shown that they're committed to us as players. That really means that I have to step up and do the same thing and not have a fallback year."

WHAT'S NEXT

The Hurricanes will practice at 11 a.m. today at the RBC Center. Wednesday night at the arena, Carolina will raise the banner commemorating its Stanley Cup victory before its regular-season opener against the Buffalo Sabres. The game is sold out.