One of the New York Islanders’ Metropolitan Division rivals received a big shakeup on Friday. Don Waddell, longtime general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, resigned from his post ahead of his contract expiring with the club.
One of the New York Islanders’ Metropolitan Division rivals received a big shakeup on Friday. Don Waddell, longtime general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, resigned from his post ahead of his contract expiring with the club.
Waddell assumed the position in 2018, building a roster that’s consistently given the Islanders fits. The Hurricanes went 11-5-2 against New York during his tenure, including three playoff series wins.
However, a new voice will assume the role in Carolina, leaving several questions to be answered. With a search for Waddell's replacement underway, how does his departure impact the Islanders moving forward?
An In-House Successor?
Eric Tulsky was named the Hurricanes' interim GM on Friday. He worked his way up the ranks of their front office before being named an assistant in 2020.
Per Carolina's press release, "Tulsky has been involved in all player personnel decisions, overseen pro scouting and the team’s hockey information department, and assisted with player contract negotiations, salary cap compliance, and other hockey-related matters."
Should he become the full-time GM, he's familiar with a roster that faces several contract dilemmas.
Heading into the offseason, Carolina will have six restricted free agents and eight unrestricted free agents to sign.
Key UFAs on the market include Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Jalen Chatfield, Tony DeAngelo, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei. Meanwhile, RFA forwards Seth Jarvis, and Jack Drury are due for raises as key pieces to Carolina's future.
While head coach Rod Brind'Amour will stay with the Hurricanes, Tulsky knows his roster better than any outside candidate, meaning he can make the necessary changes to put Carolina on top should he stick full-time. However, with Carolina being a consistent contender in the Metro, he could also try to keep that core in tact, which will make how the Islanders face the Hurricanes a bit trickier.
Waddell to Another Rival?
Multiple sources have indicated that multiple teams have expressed interest in Waddell, one of them being another Metro foe, the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team moved on from longtime general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen during the season and will look for a new voice to kickstart its rebuild.
One of Waddell's main strengths has been in development, with names like Drury, Jarvis, Martin Necas, and Andrei Svechnikov becoming mainstays under his watch.
While the free agent signings may not be the flashiest, they provide good value and depth to the roster, and he can make the big impact moves at the Trade Deadline when he wants to go all in—see the Guentzel trade.
Although the Jackets are probably a few years away from contending, Waddell has found and maintained a core that’s clicked on Carolina. Should he be able to do that again with the Blue Jackets, it brings about another potential challenger for the Islanders in the division.
It's still to be determined what the fullest extent of what Waddell's resignation means for the Islanders and the Metropolitan Division.
He has still yet to agree to a deal with any team, let alone Columbus, and Tulsky might not be his successor. However, the stars might be aligning for the division to become more cutthroat than it is now.
With Tulsky potentially shaping the Hurricanes into a modified version of what they are now and Waddell having a chance to rebuild the Blue Jackets, life for the Islanders will become more difficult.
As a result, it will make Lou Lamoriello's decisions this offseason more interesting as the summer unfolds in the division with these ongoing searches.