Several hockey writers and pundits from around the league had the Hurricanes as one of their pre-season choices to make the playoffs, and who could blame them? The majority of the team was returning from a very successful previous campaign. They were a group of players who played exceptionally well together before they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Rutherford also addressed a perceived weakness and toughened up the squad by acquiring Tom Kostopoulos, Andrew Alberts, and Aaron Ward. After signing another veteran free agent Stephane Yelle, the roster was all set to go.

With the oldest club in the NHL locked and loaded, who needed a training camp and pre-season? Certainly not the Hurricanes, as they coasted through camp and were scheduled a league-low four exhibition games.

But once the season started, everything seemed to go wrong for the Canes.

All Star center Eric Staal started off playing on a bad groin, which he injured during the Canadian Olympic trials. Erik Cole broke his leg in the second game of the season. Cam Ward had his leg sliced open by Rick Nash early in the year and then suffered from back pain later on.

Instead of being a tougher team, at times the Canes looked old and slow. Just two months into the season the club had already languished through a 14 game winless streak and their hopes for a successful season were already crushed as they sat in last place.

Rutherford tried to turn a negative into a positive and traded away several players for assets before the trade deadline. Joe Corvo, Scott Walker, Yelle, Niclas Wallin, Matt Cullen, Alberts, and Ward all got new addresses. Newcomers from Albany came up and played well. Even though the team did not make the playoffs, they finished the season respectably and fans maintained hope for the future.

This coming season is a whole new ball game though for the Canes because they currently face more questions than answers. Will the youngsters continue to play well, this time to start off the new season? Can Eric Staal maintain a point-per-game pace all year long? Will Cam Ward return to form and be able to stay healthy?

For the most part, Rutherford stayed out of the free agent market this summer but he did make some moves over the Draft weekend which could improve the team sooner rather than later.

Riley Nash was acquired from Edmonton and the Cornell center dropped out of school and signed a contract this summer. He will be given every opportunity to make the team at camp.

Defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti was acquired from the Rangers and he could also make the team.

The following veteran forwards will return: Staal, Cole, Tuomo Ruutu, Jussi Jokinen, Brandon Sutter, Sergei Samsonov, Chad LaRose, Kostopoulos, and Patrick Dwyer. Jiri Tlusty was given a one-way deal this summer and it is assumed that he will make the team.

One familiar vet who will not return is Ray Whitney, who signed a contract with the Phoenix Coyotes as a free agent this summer.

There will be a battle royale for the remaining forward spots as Zach Boychuk, Zac Dalpe, Drayson Bowman, Nash, Jonathan Matsumoto, Oskar Osala, and Jerome Samson each have at least a half way decent shot to make the team.

And don't forget about first round pick Jeff Skinner, the high scoring Kitchener center who was "wowing" everyone at the Canadian U20 camp last week. Skinner has been training hard with Gary Roberts all off-season and will most likely be given the typical nine game "junior tryout" this fall. The Canes would probably love to give the youngster another year to develop, but he could make it hard for them to send him back with a dynamic tryout.

On defense, the one free agent move that Rutherford did make was the reacquisition of Corvo. The defenseman took a cut in pay to return to Raleigh, but seemed very happy about the signing.

Joni Pitkanen, who led the NHL in average minutes on the ice per game last season, will also return and will most likely continue to log major ice time. Team USA silver medalist Tim Gleason joins this duo, but then the experience level drops dramatically on the Carolina blueline.

Anton Babchuk, Jamie McBain, Brett Carson and Jay Harrison round out the top seven. Those final three players have fewer than 150 NHL games between them and Babchuk has spent two of the last three years in the KHL. Can you say "lack of experience"?

Another inexperienced player stepping into the limelight is backup goalie Justin Peters. The 2004 second round pick for the Canes has just nine NHL games on his resume. If Cam Ward has back trouble again this season, (or other injury trouble), the Canes will be dialing 911, looking for emergency goaltending help, in a hurry.

Keys to Success:

1. Get off to a good start. (This will not be easy as the team's campaign starts off in Europe, and then they travel to the west coast and play eight games away from Raleigh before coming home for their first contest at the RBC on October 27.)

2. Stars need to be stars. (Eric Staal and Cam Ward had great moments last season, but they need to be consistent and perform all season long in order for Carolina to be successful. They also need to justify their combined $14.5 million cap number which comprises 31% of Carolina's total cap space.)

3. Team needs to stay healthy. (Continual injuries to key players doomed the team last season. They need better luck regarding that this coming year.)

4. One or more of the youngsters will need a decent season. (The loss of Ray Whitney to free agency will hurt unless someone like Zack Boychuk, Jeff Skinner, or another combination of youngsters can fill the void.)