Don Waddell left the Carolina Hurricanes better than he found them, on and off the ice

Don Waddell’s departure leaves a yawning void at the heart of the Carolina Hurricanes, and not for any obvious reason you might think.

Under normal circumstances, the exit of a general manager who shepherded a long-suffering franchise out of a playoff drought and into a contender — who also happens to be a team president who righted the economic ship — would be cause for mild panic at the minimum. That’s not the case here. The architect of the Hurricanes’ success has not left the building. It was never one person.

Waddell was one of the louder voices shaping the Hurricanes’ roster and philosophy but he was far from alone. The decisions and direction will continue to rest with owner Tom Dundon, and the other important voices are still here: interim GM Eric Tulsky and his analytics team, assistant GM Darren Yorke and coach Rod Brind’Amour, whose new contract gives him a bully pulpit as the Hurricanes’ roster is reshaped this summer.

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This was never like when Jim Rutherford or Ron Francis had total autonomy on the hockey side of the operation. That’s what Waddell will have with the Columbus Blue Jackets, which should explain the appeal of that opportunity.

But Waddell’s hockey contacts — other GMs, agents, league officials — and credibility were as invaluable as his command of the business side of the operation as team president. That’s how he arrived here, in 2014, taking over for Rutherford, one of the better decisions Peter Karmanos ever made. Dundon made Waddell interim GM in 2018 when Francis was unwilling to accede to Dundon’s collaborative decision-making and ended up giving him the job on a permanent basis.

As president, Waddell’s decade in charge saw explosive growth on the business side of the franchise, tricky lease negotiations with the Centennial Authority and, finally, the historic agreements to renovate the arena, develop its surroundings and secure the team’s future here. Waddell’s ability to navigate the Byzantine corridors of the authority (and N.C. State, and the city, and the county) was quietly essential to all of it, including the smashing success of the outdoor game at Carter-Finley in 2023. Dundon demanded it. Waddell helped deliver it.

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Whatever hockey sins Waddell may have committed with the perpetually woebegone Atlanta Thrashers, of omission or commission, in an impossible ownership situation that made Karmanos look like a relative pillar of stability in comparison, he washed himself clean here.

It’s some measure of Waddell’s value that it will almost certainly take two people to replace him, starting with a team president who understands this unique market and all of its quiet, shifting currents of influence to run the business side. And even if the Hurricanes promote Tulsky or special adviser Justin Williams to the head job, they may still benefit from an experienced negotiator in the front office to interface with the wider hockey world.

The timing isn’t terrible. The change in leadership is both a siren call and an opportunity to reassess what the Hurricanes are doing on the hockey side of things. The three straight playoff fizzles at the hands of elite goalies suggests at least some flaw in the Hurricanes’ style or philosophy, and whether it’s a new general manager or assistant GM, it might be time for at least one new voice in the room.

The Hurricanes took their greatest leaps with two old-school hockey types, Rick Dudley and Paul Krepelka in the mix. They have both since played a role in the Florida Panthers’ ascent past the Hurricanes on the competitive spectrum. Dundon interviewed just about every would-be general manager in the league before promoting Waddell (including Bill Zito, who ended up building those Panthers), gathering information as much as candidates. It’s not a bad time to do that again.

Tulsky was an essential part of building the current group and is more than capable of steering the Hurricanes through this offseason, but the Hurricanes might benefit in the long run from adding someone who isn’t invested in the current roster or past success, and is willing to speak truth to power.

That’s no criticism of Waddell, who left the Hurricanes far better than he found them, on and off the ice. What else could you ask of him?

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