Canes return to rink

RALEIGH -- Joni Pitkanen celebrates his 25th birthday today, on the same day the defenseman begins training camp with the Carolina Hurricanes, his third NHL team in three years.

The Canes made Pitkanen their biggest offseason acquisition, and the move didn't come about quietly or cheaply. Pitkanen came in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers for popular Erik Cole, the bull-rushing forward who was a team staple on the ice and a visible part of the community.

Why Pitkanen?

"First of all, he's young," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. "He should just be coming into his prime. He's big, he's strong and he can play a lot of minutes."

Much will be expected from Pitkanen, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound Finn who had a career-high 46 points (13 goals, 33 assists) for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2005-06 season.

"I know Erik Cole was a very good player here," Pitkanen said. "I'll try to do my best and play my game. I like to play the skating game and move the puck. That's what I do best.

"Here, there is a lot of high skilled players, so ... "

So, he could be a nice fit for coach Peter Laviolette's push-the-puck system. That's what Rutherford envisions.

"He's a puck-moving defenseman," Rutherford said. "He's a highly skilled defenseman.

"He's a guy capable of getting 50, 60 points in a season. He'll really help our transition game."

Pitkanen was given a three-year, $12 million contract by the Hurricanes. And though he is Rutherford's biggest piece in reshaping the defensive corps, he isn't the only piece.

It began when the team added Joe Corvo in a February trade with the Ottawa Senators. In July, the Canes signed free agent Josef Melichar -- who played most of last year in Sweden after six years with the Pittsburgh Penguins -- to a one-year, $1 million contract.

Then there's Anton Babchuk. He is back after a year in Russia -- the "prodigal-son" defenseman who fell out of favor with Rutherford and the Canes but has returned to the team that obtained him from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2006.

"I'm thankful to management and the coaching staff for giving me another chance to prove I can play here," Babchuk said.

When Babchuk was last in the Canes' locker room, he was surrounded by the likes of defensemen Glen Wesley and Bret Hedican, Mike Commodore and David Tanabe. He comes back to find Wesley and Hedican retired, Commodore gone and Tanabe's career in doubt because of a concussion last season.

"It has changed but not changed a lot," Babchuk said. "Glen and Bret have retired, but I think we have a good mix of defensemen, with good skill guys."

The Canes have toughness and solid stay-at-home players on the back end such as Tim Gleason and veteran Niclas Wallin. Frantisek Kaberle can be an offensive threat and Dennis Seidenberg provides depth.

"We've got some newcomers, we've got guys who are young and capable of playing a lot of minutes," Gleason said. "Everybody from the back end can contribute in any which way -- power play, penalty kill, even strength."

Team captain Rod Brind'Amour said the departures of Wesley and Hedican, who combined to play more than 2,700 NHL games, leaves a void. They were locker-room leaders, key members of the 2006 Stanley Cup champions.

"We'll miss that steadiness," Brind'Amour said. "When you have guys who have been around, there's that 'no panic, we're going to be all right' feeling."

Brind'Amour said it wouldn't be fair for Pitkanen to play under the constant glare and pressure of proving he was worth trading Cole away.

"I don't want him to think that, but there is some of that because that's a big-time player we moved," Brind'Amour said. "But I don't like to judge players I don't know. We've heard different things ... but you want to make your own assessment. They come in with a clean slate."

Pitkanen had 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 63 games for the Oilers last season, missing some games with a knee injury.

"I hope he's as good as everyone says he's going to be, because that would be good for us," Brind'Amour said.

Gleason noted he had twice been traded and said there's one way to quickly be accepted by your new team.

"Put your nose down, get dirty, get ready to go to work," he said. "Do your job every day, and do it consistently. If you do it consistently, every day, no questions are asked."