On Monday, the former Carolina Hurricanes forward was at the RecZone, skating hard, wristing shots. O'Neill, wearing a white Canes sweater, No. 92 on his helmet, looked the part of an experienced NHL player preparing for a new season.

"The more things change, the more they remain the same," Canes captain Rod Brind'Amour said after a 90-minute workout. "It's good to have him around."

But for O'Neill, this isn't just another season. And, in truth, it's not the same Jeff O'Neill.

O'Neill did not play in the NHL last season. He's coming to the Hurricanes' preseason training camp, which opens Sept. 19, as an unsigned free agent, hoping to grab a roster spot, secure a contract.

"I really don't know what to expect, to be honest with you," O'Neill said Monday. "I'm definitely thankful for the opportunity. I just hope to play well and we'll see what happens.

"It's the kind of a thing where I'm going to give it a shot and see where it goes. A lot of different things, a lot of difference scenarios, could come into play."

At 32, O'Neill now is a married man. He and his wife, Lydia, were wed in April and are expecting their first child.

Asked if he is a bit calmer and -- how best to put it? -- a bit more mature than when he left Raleigh in 2005, O'Neill smiled.

"Oh, yeah, that's for sure," he said.

O'Neill also said he's in better shape. He said he began working out this spring at a fitness center in Toronto that specializes in training hockey players.

"I skated and worked out last season," he said. "Obviously, that's nothing compared to an NHL season. But [the training] helped me prepare for coming down here."

O'Neill, a former first-round draft pick in 1994, scored a career-high 41 goals for the Canes in 2000-01, then 31 and 30 in the next two seasons. He was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs in late-July 2005, not long after the death of his brother, Donny -- a personal tragedy O'Neill politely but firmly declines to discuss.

After two seasons with the Leafs, O'Neill considered retiring from hockey. It seemed that was that.

"I kind of thought there was a possibility it could be over," O'Neill said, meaning his career.

But the hunger is back and the Canes will give him a tryout.

"He was a really good player for us for a number of years," Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said. "He's had a personal setback with the passing of his brother. He missed a year of hockey. Based on what he did for us when he was here, we wanted to give him an opportunity to get his career back on track.

"Will it end up being with us or will it be a steppingstone to help him go to another team? Time will tell. But he's relatively young enough and talented enough to get his game back."

Brind'Amour believes O'Neill can get it back.

"When you're a smart player, and he's always been a smart player, you're always going have that," Brind'Amour said. "He's always going to have that ability to see the game, and his skating looks fine. He looks like he did when he left."

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.