Canes GM Backs Goalies, Says Defense Must be Quicker

But so far, Rutherford remains committed to coach Peter Laviolette.

In an interview Thursday with 99.9 FM The Fan, host Mark Thomas asked Rutherford about Laviolette’s performance so far.

“We look at everything all the time at different stages,” Rutherford said. “The inconsistency of our team from week to week or even from period to period is puzzling. That does become the responsibility of the coach.

“But Peter played a part in bringing the Stanley Cup here," he said. "He’s clearly a good coach.

“It’s a fair question but I don’t foresee any changes in that area.”

Carolina takes a 24-24-4 record into this weekend’s All-Star break, and the Canes’ 52 points are just a point ahead of Washington in the Southeast Division.

That’s hardly the strong start the Canes had hoped for after winning the Stanley Cup in 2006 and failing to make the playoffs last season.

The Canes have coughed up 170 goals – the only NHL team to give up more is Atlanta (175).

But Rutherford didn’t place the blame for that on goalie Cam Ward.

“Our goaltending is fine, especially with Cam. He’s going to have a great career,” Rutherford said. “He’s still developing that mental toughness.

"Our goalies are left alone a lot, probably more than any team in the league, where the whole system breaks down.”

Other teams, he said, get too many free shots at the Canes' goal.

“Our goalies have kind of been hung out to dry,” he said. “They need more help from the team.”

Rutherford said Carolina needs more quickness and speed on defense.

“Our team is still missing what we’ve talked about for quite some time,” he said. “On our defense, we’ve got to be more mobile.”

Rutherford has evaluated trades that might help Carolina in that regard but said the price for a mobile defenseman is high.

“Those guys are not easy to get,” he said. “When you get one of them you have to pay a pretty good price to get them. …

“We’re still going to work on that. That would give our team a better chance to win, if our defense could be a little bit quicker.”

Carolina’s inconsistent play and porous defense have muted the high expectations of preseason.

“I’m not nearly as confident as I was at the first of the season based on what I’ve seen,” Rutherford said ”But I still believe we have a very good team that has underachieved.”