The Columbus Blue Jackets have named Don Waddell as the club’s president of hockey operations, general manager, and alternate governor. The deal is a multi-year contract that moves interim general manager John Davidson back to a senior advisor and alternate governor role. Davidson replaced former president of hockey operations and general manager, Jarmo Kekalainen, earlier this season.
Waddell resigned from his president and general manager roles with Carolina Hurricanes last week after working for the team for the past 10 seasons. He led the Hurricanes through a rebuild to one of the top teams in the league and has now decided to take his talents elsewhere. Eric Tulsky was named the interim general manager of the Hurricanes as the team searches for a permanent replacement for Waddell. Tulsky is expected to be considered for the role.
Waddell led the Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference Final twice over the past six years, but they were swept on both occasions. The Blue Jackets will be a challenge as they are in the same division as the Hurricanes and have an interesting assortment of players. From young stars in Adam Fantilli and David Jiricek to aging veterans in Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner, Waddell will have a lot of decisions to make regarding the team’s direction.
Since Kekalainen spent over 10 seasons with the Blue Jackets, the team was built to his liking. Now, it will be interesting to see how Waddell varies in the methodology of building a team, either starting a new strategy or continuing his methods from Carolina.
