Carolina Hurricanes: The meteoric rise of Eric Tulsky

The Carolina Hurricanes’ new Assistant General Manager has had quite the rise.

Eric Tulsky has come a long way from being a part-time employee, climbing the ranks all the way up to Assistant General Manager.

I would like to start by prefacing this with a disclaimer. Eric Tulsky is someone that I hold in the highest regard. His understanding of the analytical side of hockey and his vision to find value where others don’t is incredible. He’s a future general manager. He’s a genius and his promotion today to get him more involved in everything shows how highly the organization value the Philadelphia native.

Eric Tulsky is entering his seventh year with the organization and it’s already clear to see the weight he has on the hockey club. He’s a Harvard graduate and he’s still so young in terms of hockey management. He’s arguably the best analytical mind in the NHL right now. I know you’ll look at Toronto and other teams, and Tulsky is probably still a better analytical mind at this moment.

Even Darren Yorke, who was recently promoted with Tulsky, said

“Hockey analytics is getting more competitive, and everyone is looking for that edge. Having someone like Eric, who has always been at the forefront of everything, and allowing him to spend more time doing research…only helps him become better.”

That is from an article on Tulsky in 2015. For 5 years, he’s been a genius.

Less than 2 years ago, Tulsky was named vice president of hockey management and strategy. His role had grown incredibly. When you remember that 6 years ago, he was a part-time employee, it’s impossible to say that he has not had a strong impact on this team. A lot of what happens with the Hurricanes has his fingerprints on it, and basic fans won’t realize that.

What I mean by that is that there are a lot of analytically savvy moves that may go under the radar. Trading for Jordan Martinook is one in particular that people overlook.  He’s a heart and soul guy, right? He’s also so analytically sound it’s incredible. He was acquired to move down around a year later, and Marcus Kruger. It’s moves like this that are why Tulsky is so well respected in hockey circles.

Something else you might not realize is the signing of Jesper Fast, and how much of an Eric Tulsky signing that is. Taking someone who’s a free agent, not a big name, but a well-known player, and getting them at below market value to play in a certain way. It’s what he does. Carolina would not be as good as they are without this man. He can do it for professional players and for the draft.

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When you combine this with his all-around intellect, there’s no question that he possesses all the hallmarks of a genuinely great general manager and someone who could be in charge of a dynasty. His age is young enough to allow him to stay in this line of work for a long long time, and if the Canes can hold onto him…. oh what a team they could be.

I wish no disrespect to Don Waddell. The current Carolina Hurricanes general manager has done a fine job, but at the age of 62, he’s not going to be in the sport forever. Tulsky would be the heir apparent at this point. He’s going to be a great general manager somewhere. I hope for the sake of the organization, it is in Carolina.

What he does cannot be overstated. He is responsible for a lot of the transitions in Carolina that have moved the team to be on the edge of Stanley Cup contention. His astronomical rise to greatness continues. He’s going to be a fantastic general manager when he is finally given his chance.

Question for CC Readers: How do you feel about Tulsky’s Promotion?