May 25, 2024 | 11:58am ET
TheFourthPeriod.com
WADDELL JOINING BLUE JACKETS ORGANIZATION
Don Waddell
The Columbus Blue Jackets are adding a wealth of experience in upper management and their hockey operations department as former Carolina Hurricanes President and GM Don Waddell is joining the organization.
As reported by TFP’s David Pagnotta on “The Hot Stove” on SiriusXM NHL Network on Saturday morning, Waddell is on the verge of joining the Blue Jackets in a to-be-confirmed role.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger have also reported an official announcement is expected in the coming week after Memorial Day.
With John Davidson currently in the position of President of Hockey Operations, it is possible Waddell becomes the GM or Vice President of Hockey Operations, but a Blue Jackets source was not able to reveal the exact title as of late Saturday morning.
As we reported in the opening segment of The Hot Stove on @SiriusXMNHL at the top of the hour, Don Waddell is joining the #CBJ management team. Exact title isn’t confirmed yet. Both @PierreVLeBrun & @DarrenDreger reporting official news to come in the week.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) May 25, 2024
The Blue Jackets have between $23 million and $26 million in available salary cap space going into next season, and the mandate from ownership is to compete for the playoffs moving forward. A good chunk of those dollars will be allocated towards some of the club’s top pending restricted free agents like Cole Sillinger, Kirill Marchenko, Yegor Chinakhov and Kent Johnson, but the addition of Waddell will surely set the team up to be aggressive this summer as the Jackets aim to bolster their roster.
Another decision pending in Columbus may come behind the bench, as the future of Head Coach Pascal Vincent is up in the air and a change could be made one a new GM is officially in place.