The weather may be cooling down, but the Carolina Hurricanes are just warming up.

            After the preseason, the Hurricanes were 2-2, trading wins with the Nashville Predators and the Atlanta Thrashers.  The Hurricanes had a poor start to the season, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins on consecutive nights.  The Hurricanes, who had defeated the Bruins in a seven-game playoff series to advance to the 2008-2009 Eastern Conference finals, lost the games by a combined score of 9-2, including a 7-2 drubbing in Boston.

            The opening game against the Flyers gave Hurricanes fans their first regular season glimpse of the Hurricanes’ many offseason additions.  Stephane Yelle, Andrew Alberts and Jay Harrison were among the newcomers.  However  it is Aaron Ward, making his second run with the Hurricanes, who stole the show.  Ward, who took a punch from Hurricane Scott Walker during the Boston playoff series, said he and Walker had worked things out.

            "He called me [July 24, when Ward was traded to the Hurricanes] and then we later talked for 20 minutes," Ward said of Walker. "Honestly, it's fun being with him in the locker room. It all passed by quickly."

            The additions necessitated departures, though.  Forward Patrick Eaves was traded to the Bruins in exchange for Ward.  Anton Babchuk, the erratic defenseman who once refused to be demoted to the Hurricanes’ minor league team, has reportedly signed a contract with Russian team Avangard Omsk.  Babchuk, who was coming off a season in which he recorded a career-high 35 points, was an anchor on the blue line for the Hurricanes’ power play with his a slap shot.  The Hurricanes had plenty of defensemen, however, and General Manager Jim Rutherford was looking to trade Babchuk.

            "This is a good situation for us, as we still retain his rights, his status slides and he still doesn’t have arbitration,” said Rutherford.  “He’s still a young guy, and he may very well end up playing here again sometime.”

            With the season only a week away, the Hurricanes are working hard to trim the roster down to the NHL-mandated 23.  Prospect Drayson Bowman has been sent to the minor league Albany River Rats, as well as 2008 first round draft pick Zach Boychuk and 2007 first round draft pick Brandon Sutter.  Sutter spent time in Raleigh and Albany last season, mostly playing on the fourth line with the Hurricanes.  Sutter suffered a concussion last season after receiving a hit from the New York Islanders’ Doug Weight, a former Hurricane.  He was called up to the Hurricanes right before the Hurricanes entered the playoffs.

            The Hurricanes bring back high-scoring forwards Eric Staal and Ray Whitney, as well as hard-working fan favorites Chad Larose and Tuomo Ruutu.  With a tougher crop of defenseman and Cam Ward in net, the Hurricanes are poised to repeat their 2008-2009 playoff success, and possibly more.