Wisniewski has something to prove with Hurricanes

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman James Wisniewski said he and his new team each has something to prove.

Wisniewski was acquired by the Hurricanes on Saturday in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks, who scratched him from each of their 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games this postseason.

"It lit a fire in me to have a great season next year," Wisniewski told the Hurricanes website Tuesday. "It was a humbling experience. I knew right from the get-go that this was going to be an important offseason. I was looking forward to working really hard to get in the best shape possible and come out with a bang with whoever I was going to be playing with."

That would be the Hurricanes, coming off a 14th-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Carolina traded goalie Anton Khudobin to acquire Wisniewski.

"What better team to come to than a team that is going to be hungry this year to redeem themselves, a team and an organization that was pushing to get me?" Wisniewski said. "That means they want you there and are going to give you every opportunity to succeed. That's what I'm really looking forward to."

Wisniewski, 31, had eight goals and 29 points in 56 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets before being traded to the Ducks prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. He had no goals and five points in 13 regular-season games for Anaheim.

"[James] is a guy I've known for quite a while," Carolina coach Bill Peters said at the NHL Draft last weekend. "He's a guy that can shoot the puck. He's a right-handed shot, and we need that. We need some depth on the back end, and he gives us that."

The Hurricanes will be Wisniewski's fifth team since the start of the 2010-11 season (New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Blue Jackets, Ducks).

"I'll block shots and I'll try to help the power play," he said. "In talking with [general manager Ron Francis] and Bill about the system they play, I'm really looking forward to it. It's high-tempo, in-your-face kind of style. You have to be a skater to play, and you have to be in great shape."