NEWSLETTER
Big news from Carolina as one of the teams that’s heading into an uncertain summer with a boatload of free agents will now be handling their business with a new general manager. Carolina announced on Friday morning that GM Don Waddell has stepped down after ten years with the club.
In my Friday morning bullets, the smoke around this situation got my attention enough that I wrote this:
As Game One of the Western Conference final got started, the interwebs blew up with rumors and reports about his future in Carolina. (Remember: we were talking about the future of his head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, last week.) The noise started when Pierre LeBrun shared that Waddell has received permission to speak with other teams (see below). Then Elliotte Friedman comes flying in off the top rope with the report (later confirmed by LeBrun) that Waddell interviewed with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. David Pagnotta also shared that he’s hearing Eric Tulsky could be elevated into the GM role in Carolina.
Here’s the official announcement, including Pagnotta’s report about Tulsky being on point:
Tulsky inherits a situation that’s a bit of a mess, Carolina has eight pending UFAs this summer, headlined by forward Jake Guentzel and defensemen Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce. Carolina also has six pending RFAs this summer, including one player who has my attention as a Blackhawks trade target in Martin Nečas.
