A few developments have arisen from Hurricanes land in the past day or so that probably caused you to panic when you first read them, but neither should concern you all that much.

Paul Branecky

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Eric Staal’s Contract Rejected!
An unfortunate headline for something so insignificant – some minor legalese in his contract needed to be adjusted.  The contract specified that his no-trade clause will kick in on the exact date when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, but that date could change depending on whether or not he suits up for the next two seasons – if he doesn’t, it would be later.  Same dollar figures, same amount of years, no worries.

Rod Brind’Amour’s Knee Injury is Back!
Not quite.  He had a minor procedure today to remove a torn piece of cartilage (not ligaments) in his knee.  It is not part of his original injury and developed during his rehab and training process.

Hurricanes Head Trainer Pete Friesen only expects him to be off skates for a few weeks.

”What was bothering him was removed,” said Friesen.  “We say with no hesitancy that he’ll be back and ready to go for the first game of the season.”

The torn cartilage appeared in an MRI taken on Sunday, but it had been bothering him for a little while prior to that.  All parties thought it would be better to go ahead and take care of it now so that he could not only be ready for the opener on October 10, but could also get some practices in during part of training camp. 

As a side note, although the tear was discovered on Sunday, he did not injure the knee running in the Friesen 5K.