Canes trim camp roster to 27

The Carolina Hurricanes took to the ice Monday for practice at PNC Arena with a smaller, more manageable group.

There also were new line combinations, as Eric Staal was moved back to center from the wing.

Before practice, the team announced six players had been trimmed from the training-camp roster, bringing the roster number to 27. Sent to the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League were defenseman Trevor Carrick and forwards Brendan Woods, Sergey Tolchinsky and Phil Di Giuseppe. Forward Brody Sutter and goalie Drew MacIntyre were placed on NHL waivers with the purpose of assigning them to the Checkers.

Among those still in camp were defenseman Noah Hanifin and Haydn Fleury, the Canes’ first-round draft picks the past two years. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce also survived the cut, as did winger Brock McGinn and center Derek Ryan, a free-agent signee in the offseason.

The roster cuts were made after a pair of preseason victories this past weekend – a 5-3 win over the New York Islanders in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a 2-1 victory Sunday over the Ottawa Senators in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Carolina, 2-2 in preseason, faces the Washington Capitals on Wednesday and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday in its final two preseason games, both at PNC Arena.

“It’s always good to win,” Canes coach Bill Peters said Monday. “We played better. I thought we had more structure to our game. I thought we had a little urgency to our game.

“I liked the way we started against Ottawa and the response we had in the third. It was a (1-1) tie game going into the third and I thought we took over early in the third, then stayed with it.”

Slavin had the winning goal in the third period against the Sens, unloading a shot from the left wing off a pass from forward Kris Versteeg. Jeff Skinner had a pair of goals Saturday in the win over the Isles and also scored in the experimental three-on-three overtime period.

“The points aren’t there but it’s important to have that winning feeling,” Versteeg said Monday.

Peters changed up the lines Monday. Eric Staal, who had been used at left wing, centered a line with Versteeg and Elias Lindholm. Jordan Staal was at center with Nathan Gerbe and Riley Nash, moved from center to wing; Victor Rask centered Skinner and Chris Terry, and Jay McClement was at center with Joakim Nordstrom and Andrej Nestrasil. Ryan also centered a line with McGinn and Brad Malone.

“The picture becomes clearer over time,” Peters said. “I think Eric would like to play in the middle, so we’ll give him a look in the middle on Wednesday and see how it looks.”

The Canes have 10 defensemen left in camp, but James Wisniewski missed practice with a groin injury, Peters said.

Cam Ward, who stopped 26 of 27 shots against Ottawa, and Eddie Lack are the two remaining goalies after the Canes began training camp with six.

A smaller roster group, Peters said, is “easier for the coaches and a lot easier for the players.”

“Everybody is executing at a high pace, everybody is communicating and talking,” Peters said.

NHL teams are allowed 23-man rosters going into the regular season. There still are some decisions to be made.

As a junior-aged player out of the Western Hockey League, Fleury, 19, must either play for the Hurricanes this season or be returned to his junior team, the Red Deer Rebels. Hanifin, who played last season at Boston College, may begin the season with the Canes but is eligible to be assigned to the Checkers.

Fleury, the seventh overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft, came to the Canes’ camp a year ago, played two exhibition games and then was returned to Red Deer. It’s possible the Canes could reach the same decision.

Slavin and Pesce, both former college players drafted by the Canes, can be assigned to Charlotte.

“All those kids have great scenarios and great options,” Peters said.

This story was originally published September 28, 2015 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Canes trim camp roster to 27."