FSN South released their Carolina Hurricanes 65 game television broadcast package today, which will include the opening night contest at the RBC against the Florida Panthers. The network will broadcast 35 of the team's 41 road games. John Forslund and Tripp Tracy will continue to work the booth for the Canes.

For more information and a look at the complete schedule, check out this link.

The Hurricanes website must be gearing up for the start of the season. After a bit of a sabbatical by their staff, they recently posted articles about Rod Brind'Amour and Jeff O'Neill. Both are worth a read. Apparently, Brind'Amour is in tip-top shape, is ready for action, and is feeling no ill effects from his knee injury.

850 The Buzz recently conducted an interesting interview with Jim Rutherford. Adam Gold and Joe Ovies do a very nice job of asking the right questions. Here are some highlights-

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One of the factors in giving Jeff O"Neill a look at camp was loyalty. The forward had several good years for the franchise and Rutherford felt that he deserved another shot.

Some people have been speculating that the return of O'Neill might mean that Matt Cullen is not recovering as planned. The GM states that one situation has nothing to do with the other. They have heard that Cullen will be ready for camp, and that is what they are anticipating.

They fully expect Brandon Sutter to make the team, although they will not rush him if it turns out that he isn't ready. He could return to juniors, if needed.

David Tanabe has seen a physician and has not been cleared to play. The Canes have withdrawn their offer to buy him out, and they expect the grievance filed against them to be withdrawn as well. Since technically speaking, the defenseman is still a part of the team, they expect him to be at training camp whether he can skate or not. He needs to be associating with the team. (more interesting stuff about Tanabe)

When asked about Zac Dalpe and Ohio State, Rutherford said that he wasn't concerned at all about his decision to play in college. The GM stated that the situation was a far cry from the Jack Johnson scenario, when the defenseman was offered a chance to be on a very good team, a team which eventually won the Cup, but chose not to. "That told me a lot about that player", said Rutherford. In Dalpe's case, he was not being offered the opportunity to play with the Canes, he was offered a contract to play in the OHL. Big difference.

The Canes are still trying to trade a blueliner. During the month of August, it is nearly impossible to conduct business in the NHL. Everyone is at the beach. JR expects activity to pick up in September.

Finally when asked about the Olympics, Rutherford stated that amateurs should participate, not professionals. He said his opinion had nothing to do with the fact that he is a general manager for a professional team.

To listen to the entire interview, check out this link on The Blog.

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Last but not least, like everyone else who was familiar with her story, we at Canes Country are saddened by the passing of Julia Rowe. Condolences to her friends and family. A link to the Hurricanes press release with the necessary details can be found here.

(ZZ Top)