Raleigh's home for Cam Ward, and he didn't want to leave

Cam Ward wasn't interested in leaving what has become home.

The goaltender re-upped with the Carolina Hurricanes on a two-year, $6.6-million deal Thursday, and he wasn't interested in testing free agency. Not at all.

"Free agency never really did (interest me), to be honest," Ward told the Hurricanes' website. "I had a belief that something could be done. My family, we consider Raleigh home. I want to be here to play hockey, and there's also a family side to it, too. This is where we would like to be."

Ward is glad the uncertainty of his future is out of the way, and now he can simply focus on his work in the crease.

"I think it's a real good time to be a part of the Hurricanes," Ward said. "We've got some real good upside with the young prospects. We talk about the defense that was playing in front of me last year, a crew that I'm real excited to be able to play with. They're only going to get better, and that's the beauty of that. And you're seeing the team address other needs up front, getting players that they're real excited about. It's a matter of putting everything all together come September. The goal will remain to get back in the playoffs and fight for that Stanley Cup."

The Hurricanes added Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

Now that he's signed, Ward has to shift his focus to playing better. His .909 save percentage this past season ranked 32nd in the league, and his .910 mark in 2014-15 ranked 33rd.