Metro Division notes: On Waddell moving on, a win for the Islanders, and more

I shared my thoughts on the latest and greatest coming from Metro Division teams.

Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey with our writers and subscribers.

---

A few notes on the latest and greatest pertaining to Metro Division teams:

Hurricanes move on from Waddell

Waddell has long served as the team’s steady hand and middle man between Tom Dundon, whose way of operating sometimes rubs people the wrong way, and all other parties (coaches, players, agents). I think he brought a lot of value to the organization in that way.

That being said, the Hurricanes are a very analytically inclined team and they make decisions accordingly. Waddell doesn’t wield the same power as many GMs.

Dundon puts a price on everything and I imagine he didn’t feel Waddell was worth what it’d take to get a deal done considering the team doesn’t expect or want one person making all the big decisions.

For those reasons, I was not surprised to see the Hurricanes opt against renewing Waddell’s contract.

Interim GM Eric Tulsky is an extremely sharp mind. He can help steer the ship and he doesn’t have the experience or hockey resume (in terms of winning Cups, etc.) to command top dollar. He’s a true Dundon favorite.

I imagine the Hurricanes will look for a frontman, so to speak, who can help Tulsky deal with other teams and do the media work while Tulsky and the team’s scouting and analytics departments take care of most of the hockey matters.

Back to Waddell for a moment, though. I think he’d be a nice fit for the Blue Jackets, where he’s rumored to be in contention for the job.

He’s a respected face to represent the organization and, coming from Carolina, he has a lot of experience incorporating analytics into decisions.

The Blue Jackets have some great people working for the team and I think Waddell would be willing to give them a voice. He can also help right the ship and come up with a real plan moving forward. It has felt like they’ve been flying by the seat of their pants in recent years. They really need to pick a clear path and stick to it.

A win for Lou!