Carolina Hurricanes: Don Waddell is Already the Best GM of 2019

Season in Review

It all started with luck. Many Hurricanes fans first exposure to Waddell came in the 2018 NHL Draft Lottery, where the lucky old man in the turtle neck came away with the 2nd overall pick. The pick was easy, Andrei Svechnikov was a can’t miss prospect, but it was all the things that came before and after that made this year Waddell’s successful comeback campaign.

The hiring of Rod Brind’Amour was huge. Without that move, this all may have fallen apart. The decision to stay in house, when many where calling for the organization to look elsewhere, had paid massive dividends for the Hurricanes 2019 success.

Then there was the Free Agency period. Waddell first traded for Jordan Martinook; there may not have been a more overlooked trade in the entire league. Martinook came to embody the Carolina identity throughout the season. Providing spurts of offense and his patented fast and physical style of play.

Adding Petr Mrazek and Calvin De Haan only sweetened the underrated offseason. Mrazek quickly displayed the aggressive ability that earned him the starting job in Detroit and gave him his best season since. De Haan cemented the back end, and provided leadership, discipline, and underrated skill to a deep group wrought with inexperience.

The Draft also allowed Waddell to continue shaping this roster. Not only did he add the second-best prospect on the board in Svechnikov, but he orchestrated a trade to bring Micheal Ferland and Dougie Hamilton to Raleigh. Ferland provided much needed sandpaper to a noticeably youthful roster, and Hamilton provided necessary offensive punch to a defensive heavy blueline.

What Waddell did in the offseason set this team in motion, the addition of these players of varying skills and experience created the nucleus of a team able to dethrone the defending champion Washington Capitals and sweep one of the leagues surprising teams in the New York Islanders. This is without considering what Waddell did during the year

The mid-season acquisitions deserve praise in and of themselves. Curtis McEhinney was crucial to the team’s success. His poise and experience where desperately relied upon throughout the year, and a vitality for the Canes postseason surge.

Nino Niederreiter was also incredibly important. Giving up an underperforming center, Waddell stole the Swiss native from the Wild, and granted Brind’Amour a 20-goal scorer. His chemistry with Sebastian Aho and Justin Williams played an important role in the post-January run that catapulted the Hurricanes into the playoff picture.

Waddell has contributed more to this team’s success this season than any other General Manager in the league. Doug Armstrong didn’t do much to attribute to the Blues dominant 40 games to end the year, and Don Sweeny made some trades that are proving their worth in the playoffs, but the production from their core group was in well in-place prior to the 2019 season.

Waddell did the most to help his team. He shouldn’t just be considered the favorite; NHL GM of the year is a one-man race.

Question for CC Readers: What do you expect from Waddell heading into his second offseason leading this Franchise?