Change coming for Canes

RALEIGH -- 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.

"It has been so disappointing in the last two homes games in how we've played and how we lost games," Rutherford said. "I never expected this. We have a responsibility to our fans to win games and try to win another [Stanley] Cup.

"We can't dig too deep a hole that we do not have a chance to get to the playoffs. ... It's very disappointing to watch a team that has the ability to win find ways to lose. I take full responsibility for what's happened."

The Hurricanes likely will have to find a way to win without center Eric Staal. Rutherford said Staal, who suffered an upper-body injury and missed the third period of Sunday's game, probably would be sidelined for a few games.

Staal has played 349 consecutive regular-season games, but that streak may end Wednesday when the Canes - winless on the road - face the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla. Staal has missed just one game in his career, late in his rookie season.

"When it goes wrong, it goes wrong," Rutherford said. "But all teams have injuries.

"We have enough players to step up, but we'll have to do it with confidence at an all-time low. It will take a special performance to gut out a win, but once we do that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Hopefully, we can turn the corner in the month of November and stick with our plan."

He said defenseman Tim Gleason, out the past five games with an upper-body injury, should return for the Panthers game. Defenseman Jay Harrison was placed on waivers Monday.

In retrospect, Rutherford said some offseason moves, and the decision to play fewer exhibition games, appear to have backfired.

The Canes kept intact much of the team that reached the Eastern Conference finals in the Stanley Cup playoffs. They re-signed Cole and Chad LaRose, both unrestricted free agents, while adding forwards Tom Kostopoulos and Stephane Yelle and defensemen Aaron Ward and Andrew Alberts.

"I don't want to point to the new players as the reason for this," he said. "Some of the players we've relied on are not playing as well as they have played well for us.

"I thought adding some players would make the team better, but it hasn't. Maybe we have too many veterans."

The Hurricanes called up center Brandon Sutter from Albany, and Sutter has responded with goals in the past two games and some heady play. Rutherford's plan was to keep such top prospects as Sutter, Zach Boychuk and Drayson Bowman with the River Rats this season, furthering their development, then possibly move some into the Canes' lineup next season.

"We were in position to transition to a younger team in the future, but maybe we need to accelerate that - if we can move certain players," he said.

Rutherford said losing defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Anton Babchuk from last year's team has hurt. Seidenberg, an unrestricted free agent, couldn't come to terms financially with the Hurricanes. Babchuk, a restricted free agent, turned down the team's qualifying offer and is playing in Russia this season.

"It's hard to lose both in the same year and the points they bring to the table," he said.

Seidenberg and Babchuk combined for 21 goals and 44 assists last season.

The Hurricanes surged in the second half of the season under Paul Maurice, who was brought in as coach in early December when Peter Laviolette was fired. Maurice was given a new three-year contract, and his staff was retained.

Asked on Monday if he had confidence in Maurice and the staff and their ability to turn around the season, Rutherford said, "I do. We have the same system that got us going the second half of the season. We just need better performances from certain guys, from our top players."

A mistake, Rutherford said, was the decision to play four exhibition games - the Canes played six before last season.

"It worked in that our injuries were down, but we were not in game shape," he said.

After the San Jose loss, which left most of the players grim, LaRose was blunt about the situation.

"We're just not getting it done," he said.

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