Time is now for Hurricanes to transition from Ward to Lack

It's time for the Carolina Hurricanes to thank Cam Ward for his service, and respectfully move on.

This reality was on full display in Sunday's game against the Arizona Coyotes, of all teams. Ward found himself woefully out of position on the first goal against, and was later beaten short side by a soft backhand that tied the game at three.

(Courtesy: NHL.com)

Ward surely breathed a sigh of relief when teammate Justin Faulk floated the game-winner past the opposition late in regulation to secure the win. But despite the fact his record now sits at 9-8-3, and even after a sparkling performance in a win Saturday over Montreal, his season save percentage dropped to .899, putting him outside the top 60 goalies.

A hero in Raleigh as a rookie, when he was the goalie of record for the franchise's lone Stanley Cup victory in 2006, the 31-year-old has struggled to reach that level of play ever since, posting a rather pedestrian career save percentage of .909, and zero playoff appearances since 2009.

Awarded a six-year, $37.8-million contract back in 2010, Ward is now set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end. With the way he's playing right now, it seems unlikely that he would be coveted prior to the trade deadline. Carolina would likely be best served by allowing him to test his options on the open market rather than pursuing a contract extension.

They already have his replacement in house, with Eddie Lack signed on for two more years at a modest cap hit of $2.75 million. Sure, he's posted a record of 1-5-1 with an even poorer (to say the least) .865 save percentage, but we'll cut him some slack after he moved to a new team in another conference over the summer.

Through 82 games with Vancouver prior to moving to Carolina, Lack's save percentage sat at .916; at one time, he was playing well enough to earn the Canucks' starting job over Roberto Luongo, who's proving to be aging far better than Ward.

At this point, the Hurricanes should look at giving Lack a long stretch of starts in order to make him more comfortable with his teammates, and head coach Bill Peters' system going forward.

The team's offense is starting to turn around, but a playoff spot appears unlikely this season. The Hurricanes appear to be on the cusp of an even deeper youth movement, with captain Eric Staal's long-term future with the club also hanging in the balance.

Ward's done little this season - or over the past few, for that matter - to warrant much loyalty in terms of playing time. The Hurricanes are set to be free from him financially, and have already made an off-ice commitment to Lack through to the end of the 2017-18 season.

It's time to give Lack a chance to assert himself on the ice as well.