The Captain??

According to Joe Ovies of Sports Radio 850thebuzz, Rod Brind'Amour is not guaranteed a spot on the ice during the 2009-10 season.

Brind'Amour is under contract for two more seasons, and both seasons he will cost in the neighborhood of 3 million dollars.

The Hurricanes operate at their own salary cap, which is normally about 5 or 6 million lower than the NHL salary cap. Since that is the case, I don't think they can afford to pay a 4th-line center 3 million dollars a season.

It has nothing to do with the captain. I like him as a player, and I'd like to see him stay in Raleigh until he retires. But, unless the team is going to spend more money than it traditionally spends, I just don't think Brind'Amour is a wise investment.

Of course, since he's under contract, the Hurricanes would most likely have to trade him to get out from under his salary obligation.

Another interesting development will be the Erik Cole contract situation. Cole is an unrestricted free agent who made 4 million dollars last season. I'm not sure he is worth that kind of money to anyone anymore, but I'd really be shocked to see the Hurricanes offer him a big-money contract. He hasn't been the same player since the "Orpik incident" during the 2006 Stanley Cup season. He made his cameo appearance in the Cup Finals, and then signed a big free agent deal that offseason.

Jim Rutherford, the Canes' GM, has a lot of difficult decisions to make this offseason. Personally, I'd like to see the Canes add a scoring forward and a big-time defenseman. But, it isn't my money I'm spending.