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Changes coming in Carolina?

Jim Rutherford

While we’ve been distracted with how bad the Bruins, Blue Jackets, and Canadiens have started their years and now the firing of Davis Payne in St. Louis, there’s another team sniffing around at a shake up. The Carolina Hurricanes have been less-than impressive to start the year and with a record of 5-6-3 and losers of six of their last eight, GM Jim Rutherford is sick of seeing the losses pile up.

Rutherford says that change could be on its way soon and if you think that means trouble for coach Paul Maurice... Think again. Rutherford tells Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that while pointing at the coaches is the easy way to go about it, it’s up to the players to get things done on the ice.

For the Hurricanes, they’ve got a few issues. Cam Ward has been average in goal and his backup Brian Boucher has been terrible. Jeff Skinner is the only guy producing regularly on offense and captain Eric Staal is befitting of being called “snake bitten” when it comes to scoring. With just three goals and two assists to go along with countless posts hit as well as a soul-crushing -16 plus/minus rating, the captain could use a four-leaf clover or two.

Add all that to a defensive unit that’s struggling to put it together and you’ve got a mess. Obviously it’s still early in the season, but the Hurricanes are in danger of getting too far behind Washington and Tampa Bay in the Southeast and the rest of the Eastern Conference. A little bit of luck and a lot more hard work can get them back in it. If not, it might be time to shake up the roster a bit.