from Luke DeCock of the News & Observer,

It will be awkward if it happens, but there’s every reason to believe both Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk will still be members of the Carolina Hurricanes when players report to training camp on September 13.

And it will be very awkward if that’s how it turns out.

Both have spent most or all of the entire summer on the trading block in varying degrees of public fashion, Skinner because of his contract, which will expire after the season with no indication he’ll re-sign with the Hurricanes; Faulk because of his expendability after the acquisition of Dougie Hamilton; both because their combined 15 NHL seasons without a single playoff appearance makes them prime targets amid the need for a shake-up in the dressing room.

Throw in the fact that Faulk was a co-captain last season, even if Jordan Staal bore almost all of that weight, but may not wear any letter at all in the first year of the Rod Brind’Amour regime, and he remains a prime candidate for a change of scenery in the wake of what could be a very visible demotion.

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