from Chip Alexander of the News & Observer,

It would have been hard, if not impossible, for Jeff Skinner to ignore all the NHL trade speculation percolating this summer.

Every week, it seemed, Skinner’s name was being mentioned and the Carolina Hurricanes forward said to be “available” for a trade.

The Twitterverse was aflame during the NHL Draft in late-June in Florida. For a few days, a deal involving Skinner appeared to be a given.

But it’s September. On Friday, he put in another informal skate with Hurricanes teammates at Raleigh Center Ice, then settled back in the locker room under a stall with a “Skinner” nameplate.

“There’s not much I can do about it,” Skinner said. “You hear all the talk, all the rumors. It’s tough to build expectations because anything can happen. You look at all the deals leading up to the draft and at the draft, and lot of it you didn’t see coming.

“I’m here, I love it here. I think in the summer when you hear all that stuff, that’s all it is – just talk. You can’t really do anything about it. You just focus on getting better.”

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