Rutherford: Staal to miss some games

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Ward to stay in hospital; Canes mull options

Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said today that goaltender Cam Ward would remain at a Columbus, Ohio, hospital another day and that the team may look to trade for, or sign, another goaltender.

Ward suffered a laceration of the left leg in the first period of the Canes' 3-2 loss at Columbus on Saturday and was taken to Riverside Hospital.

"We'll have to see how it goes," Rutherford said today of Ward's injury and recovery time. "It appears it will be a fairly long period of time."

Change coming for Canes

With his team mired in a nine-game losing streak and free-falling down the NHL standings, Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford promised Monday that changes were on the way.

While saying he believes in his coaching staff and players, Rutherford said he would more actively look to make trades. It's also possible other younger players could be called up from the Albany River Rats, the team's American Hockey League affiliate.

Rutherford, who accepted the blame for the Hurricanes' 2-8-3 start, said he had hoped to wait until the end of November before making those kinds of decisions. But his attitude changed after the Canes' 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues and then a 5-1 whipping Sunday by the San Jose Sharks - two home games sandwiched around a 6-1 beating Saturday in Philadelphia by the Flyers.

Staal replaces Brind'Amour as Canes captain

The Carolina Hurricanes have a new captain and it came as no surprise. The timing, maybe, but not the selection.

General manager Jim Rutherford announced today that forward Eric Staal would replace Rod Brind'Amour as captain. He said he first discussed the decision with Brind'Amour, who led the Canes to the 2006 Stanley Cup, and said Brind'Amour had the right to veto the move, but agreed it would be best for a team in last place in the NHL.

"It's something we were planning on doing at some point in time, not knowing exactly when that would be," Rutherford said. "I've had a couple of conversations with Rod over the last month or two ... just to see how he's doing in the overall scheme of things.

Canes lose Ward for 3 to 4 weeks

Cam Ward and Eric Staal have been called the cornerstones of the Carolina Hurricanes franchise by general manager Jim Rutherford.

But the Hurricanes, caught up in a nightmarish season and winless in their past 12 games, now will be without both stars after Ward suffered a laceration of the upper left leg Saturday in a 3-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Ward will be sidelined a minimum of three to four weeks, Rutherford said Sunday, forcing the team to make a goaltending decision. Staal has missed the past three games with an upper-body injury and should be sidelined another couple of weeks, Rutherford said.

Hurricanes activate Staal

The Carolina Hurricanes have activated center Eric Staal off injured reserve.

Staal has missed 10 games with an upper body injury. He was hurt during a November 1 game against San Jose.

Before the injury, Staal had appeared in 349 straight regular-season games. He has just three goals and two assists in 13 games this season entering Wednesday's action.