The time for someone to lift the Stanley Cup is quickly approaching with exciting Conference Final games in full swing. But that doesn’t mean the teams sitting on the sidelines watching aren’t already actively engaged in preparing for next year and beyond. One team with plenty of questions to answer is the Carolina Hurricanes. Maybe the most important is their now vacant General Manager position following Don Waddell‘s departure. This round of NHL Rumours focuses on the Hurricanes and their GM search.
NHL Rumours
The Carolina Hurricanes General Manager Search
Rumour: Elliotte Friedman discussed on 32 Thoughts podcast the status and likely direction Carolina’s GM search will go.
As if the Carolina Hurricanes didn’t have enough decisions to iron out regarding players and Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour (now signed), former GM Don Waddell’s contract was also expiring and now we all know he decided to move on to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Elliotte Friedman discussed how this departure seemed like it was just the time for Waddell to move on. Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon operates in a very different manner than the ownership group of the Blue Jackets. Dundon is very hands on and has a way of doing things that he strongly prefers. This doesn’t mean that he refuses to give any leeway nor does it mean it hasn’t been somewhat successful. But this is different than what Waddell will find in Columbus where he will likely be given a lot of autonomy. Both teams will have interesting summers, but Carolina will likely take very intentional next steps with their GM search.
What Was and What Will Be
As Friedman also discussed, Carolina very much had a lead by committee type approach in their management group. Eric Tulsky, now named as interim GM, is an analytics guru and steers a lot of decisions affecting the direction of the on-ice team. Assistant GM Darren Yorke is also involved in most team decisions but focuses a lot on scouting. Then Aaron Schwartz is deeply involved in contract negotiations. Even Brind’Amour has a say so in some player decisions.
So what was Waddell’s role? Besides being the leader behind only Dundon, he was the guy that knew the league and the other “players” in the front offices. This is an asset that Dundon seems to put a lot value on and may be the missing piece they look to achieve when selecting a new GM.
Fitting the Bill
The big question then comes to who Carolina will actually name as their new GM. Tulsky seems to have more than earned an opportunity to fill that role and it would not be a total surprise to see Carolina remove his interim tag. But as mentioned above, when lo0king for someone who knows the personalities around the league, Friedman mentions a name like Chuck Fletcher. Keep in mind, this is not saying the Carolina will hire Fletcher or that the Hurricanes are rumoured specifically to have him on their short list. But it is this type of person that might be who Carolina looks at. Fletcher has been in upper management positions for two decades now, including a nine year stint as GM of the Minnesota Wild and most recently as GM of the Philadelphia Flyers until March of 2023.
Whoever the new GM is in Carolina, that person needs to be someone who can operate under Dundon’s style. Someone who doesn’t mind an involved owner and very valuable inputting voices around him or her. It’s no secret the value that Carolina puts on Tulsky, but also Yorke. Naming Tulsky as new GM would be an interesting move. Furthermore, it would be fascinating to see how that might impact the direction of the team. But even with his many years of management experience, Dundon might look for someone else to fit more seamlessly into the role that Waddell left. As seen in these Hurricanes rumours, you could give Carolina a category three hurricane as far as offseason chaos this year. But maybe that will ultimately be a good thing. It will be interesting to see where things go.
Main Photo Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
