Less than a week after resigning from his position with the Carolina Hurricanes, it was announced that former general manager Don Waddell has joined the Columbus Blue Jackets, a division rival, on a multi-year contract.
In Columbus, Waddell will have basically full autonomy over all hockey-related decisions as he was named both the general manager and president of hockey operations.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join the Columbus Blue Jackets as this is an organization that has everything you need to have success at the highest level,” Waddell said in a press release. “It’s a wonderful city with passionate fans, strong ownership, first-class facilities, and a desire to be the best. I’d like to thank the McConnell family, Mike Priest and John Davidson for this opportunity, and look forward to being part of this community.”
John Davison, who was the Blue Jackets' president of hockey ops for 10 of the last 12 years, will move to a senior advisor role instead.
“I’ve known Don for many years, and he is one of the great gentlemen in our business,” Davidson said in a press release. “He is a very smart, dedicated professional who has shown a great ability to bring people together to work towards a common goal and achieve success. I believe this is a great day for our organization and our fans.”
Waddell was the general manager in Carolina for six seasons, but was with the organization for 10. He also led the day-to-day business operations of the club and PNC Arena as the team president.
However, the thing about Carolina was that it was a much more collaborative effort with a lot of different voices having a say.
So it seems like Waddell will have more control over the team in Columbus without having to do all the business stuff too.
“Don Waddell is one of the most experienced and respected executives in our sport with over four decades of experience as a player, scout, head coach, general manager and team president,” said Blue Jackets President and Alternate Governor Mike Priest in a press release. “Most recently, he has built the Carolina Hurricanes into one of the winningest clubs in the National Hockey League. Don has every attribute we were looking for when this process began, and we are thrilled to have him lead our hockey operations efforts.”
Columbus is a team that is poised to breakout with plenty of young talent, so it was a good opportunity for Waddell who many had reported was probably planning to walk away from Carolina this year anyway.
It's also been reported that the new deal will also play him more than he was making in Carolina.
In addition, Waddell will also reportedly be allowed to join Columbus at the draft table this year as the Hurricanes didn't feel he had significant involvement in their scouting decisions this year,
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