The media had the opportunity to speak with Tomas Kaberle via conference call today and ask the new Carolina defenseman some questions.  Here is a brief summary of highlights:

• During the free agent period, a few teams showed interest in him, including Boston.  July 1 was a long day because he had to stay by the phone the whole day.  He ended up choosing Carolina in part, because his brother, (Frantisek), said a lot of good things about his experience here.  Plus, it's a young team with a promising future and it looks like he has room to play here.  
• He feels that Paul Maurice is a good, young coach with a lot of passion and he enjoyed playing for him previously.  He spoke with the coach and GM after the signing and he thought that was a nice gesture. 
  
• He is currently healthy and started workouts on Monday.  Some of the guys he is working out with include Jiri Tlusty and Tomas Plekanec.  If there are no problems with his workouts, he will be 100% healthy in September and ready for training camp.  
• His brother told him that Carolina is a great place to be.  There is very good fan support.  He felt that his brother was happier in Carolina than in any of the other places he played, (Atlanta, Los Angeles).
• Looking forward to playing with Eric Staal and Cam Ward.  Also, willing to take leadership role and "say the things that need to be said", but says that it's a team game and success depends upon the team. 

You can check out the entire interview at the following link:

Audio of Tomas Kaberle media conference call - http://carhur.com/cg5