The Blue Jackets introduced Don Waddell on Wednesday.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have their new front-office leader. Former Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell is officially the new general manager in Columbus. The veteran hockey executive was introduced to local media and fans on Wednesday. And he’s certainly ready to get to work.

Waddell joining the Blue Jackets is certainly a bit surprising. Especially given how things were going with the Hurricanes. But the 65-year-old Detroit native is more than ready for the challenges he’ll face with a team that has won just one playoff series in its history.

“With the players that are currently on the roster, and knowing how this organization runs and everybody that’s been here … there’s no excuse from an ownership standpoint,” said Waddell, via NHL.com “They give you all the tools, all the resources to make it work.”

Turning things around

Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
The Blue Jackets have had a rough history in the NHL. As mentioned, they have won just one playoff series in their history. Columbus swept the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But things should be going much better for this franchise.

Columbus is a passionate hockey market. And they have had talent come through the door in the past. Players such as Rick Nash, Artemi Panarin, and Sergei Fedorov have skated for the Blue Jackets. Despite that, they have little to show for it. Since 2019-20, their highest regular season finish was sixth in the division. Furthermore, they finished last in the division for the second straight year in 2024.

That said, Don Waddell believes there is a foundation for success already in place. “The great thing is, there’s a lot of a lot of smart hockey people in this organization and we’re going to count on everybody to be part of these discussions and as we make decisions as a group,” the Blue Jackets general manager said, via NHL.com. “We’ll get this figured out and make everybody here in Columbus proud of the Blue Jackets.”

Why Don Waddell joined the Blue Jackets

Waddell brings experience to Columbus. He won a Stanley Cup as an assistant general manager with his hometown Detroit Red Wings. Then, he became the general manager of the Atlanta Thrashers. He left the Atlanta organization when it relocated to Winnipeg, and joined the Hurricanes in 2014. Waddell became their general manager in 2018.

In each of his six seasons in Carolina, they made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This includes two appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals, though they were swept each time. At this point, the 65-year-old Detroit native said he felt he needed something different.

“At this point in my career I was looking for a new challenge,” he said, via NHL.com “I had some options and when I looked at this option that made the most sense, and so that’s why I’m excited about having that opportunity to take this job. … I go back to, I would never come to this potential opportunity if I didn’t think there was going to be a great outcome.”

The new Blue Jackets general manager has a few things on the docket for this summer. First, the future of head coach Pascal Vincent is up in the air. Vincent took over for Mike Babcock after Babcock resigned before the season due to a cell phone scandal. However, a change could be made with a new general manager in charge.

Beyond that, there is NHL Free Agency on July 1. And a few days before that, there is the NHL Draft on June 28. Waddell expressed his belief that the Blue Jackets will be better this season. But he didn’t get specific on the extent of their improvement. “We will be a better team next year,” he said, via NHL.com, “but ask me in three months how much better we’ll be.”