Updates and Loose Ends

I spent some time over the weekend updating a few things on the site and testing some new templates. I have not found the perfect one yet, but I will keep trying. The only thing that really bothers me about this one is that if you are using internet explorer, the right sidebar looks like a mess. Sorry about that!

The Canes Country Salary Chart has been updated and the total payroll that the Hurricanes have committed to so far this season is over $48 million. This does not include Hamilton, (buyout) and Tanabe, (wannabe buyout), but it does include Brandon Sutter, who most likely will be on the team.

A permanent link to the chart can be found on the left sidebar. If anyone sees a mistake on it, please let me know.

Jim Rutherford has alluded more than once to the fact that he is trying to trade a defenseman and we still think Frank Kaberle is the bait. Many teams are all set on their blueline, but there are a few teams still looking.

Speaking of defensemen, Bret Hedican is still looking for work. I received an email from a CC reader, Julia, at the end of last week asking me about Bret.

As most everyone knows by now, he and Kristi moved to the West Coast where the defenseman was going to try to find a team who needed him. The bad news for Hedican is that there are not as many franchises to choose from out there, and it looks like most of them are all set. San Jose, Vancouver, and Anaheim have their respective bluelines pretty much ready to go.

Los Angeles is the one place where I think he has his best shot to play because they are short a couple of bodies and they also have plenty of room with their cap to work with. Will they get together? Your guess is as good as mine, but at this point it doesn't look like he will be getting top dollar, so it also wouldn't surprise me to see him retire.

With the pre-season schedule announced last week, I also thought it was time to update the Canes Country Calendar. You can check it to see Hurricanes current events as well as see the schedule in a more reader friendly format than just the listing like you see on most sites. The permanent link to the calendar is also listed on the left sidebar.

I will be updating the calendar again when the full schedule is released later this week. If anyone has other Hurricanes related events that you think should be on the calendar, please let me know.

There are two interviews from last week that still need to be put together and I will gather my notes and type them up soon. I also have a couple of other articles that I am working on.

Finally, the Hurricanes opened a new section at the Marbles Kids Museum and over 1,000 Caniacs attended on Saturday morning for the opening ceremony. Many of the fans hoped to get an autograph or photo of team Captain Rod Brind'Amour, who made an appearance. See photos here.

So much for no one being interested in hockey during the dog days of summer! It will be interesting to see how many fans show up for the Fun Fest next week Thursday.

For now, Happy Monday!