Cory Stillman will work as Carolina's new director of forward development. He retired from playing following the 2010-11 campaign, in which he played for the Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. The Canes have also named Ron Francis their vice president of hockey operations and Tom Barrasso will serve as a pro scout, with Greg Stefan taking over the goalie coaching duties. GM Jim Rutherford also announced that Rod Brind'Amour will take over as a full-time assistant coach next season.

Cory Stillman will reportedly announce his retirement on Thursday, according to The Peterborough Examiner. He will join the front office of the Florida Panthers as a member of their player development staff under Brian Skrudland. Stillman appeared in 1,025 career games over 16 seasons with Calgary, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Ottawa and Florida, while contributing 278 goals and 727 points. We wish him the best in his new role.

It is believed that if the Blue Jackets had not signed Vaclav Prospal they would have turned their attention to Cory Stillman. The Jackets were in the market for a veteran once Kristian Huselius went down with a pectoral injury and Prospal was seemingly atop their list. Stillman remains unsigned, but would be a useful addition to any number of clubs looking for an offensive boost.

With the recent injury suffered by Kristian Huselius, the Blue Jackets are expected to search the free agent market for a potential replacement. Cory Stillman is one of the many free agent forwards still available on the market and could be a possibility for Columbus along with Vaclav Prospal, Steve Bernier, Sergei Samsonov, J.P. Dumont, Jason Williams and Marek Svatos. The team has already spent near the salary cap limit by committing $58 million for the coming season, so they're left with about $2 million to offer.

The Carolina Hurricanes aren't expected to re-sign Cory Stillman. Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford reportedly stated that Stillman's return would be tied to the Hurricanes' ability to re-sign Jussi Jokinen. Carolina was able to ink Jokinen to a three-year contract, so they will probably part ways with Stillman. He had 12 goals and 27 assists in 65 contests with Florida and Carolina last season.

Cory Stillman is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday if he doesn't agree to terms with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, GM Jim Rutherford has reportedly stated that Stillman's return will hinge on whether or not the Canes are able to re-sign potential free agent Jussi Jokinen. If they bring back Jokinen then Stillman will be allowed to pursue employment elsewhere. The veteran forward has 12 goals and 39 points in 65 games with Florida and Carolina last season.