WADDELL’S LOOKING FOR A DEAL
New Carolina GM fielding calls for No. 2 pick, but admits it will be ‘hard to move’
Don Waddell holds a lot of the cards as teams prepare for this month’s NHL draft.
While it’s easy to predict the Buffalo Sabres will select Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin with the No. 1 overall pick when the league’s 31 teams gather June 22 and 23 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, it’s anybody’s guess where it might go from there.
After taking over the general manager’s duties with the Carolina Hurricanes last month, Waddell, 59, declared last month he’s open for business with the No. 2 selection and he’s already turned down one offer from an undisclosed team because it wasn’t good enough.
“What we’ve said is we’re really fortunate to have that pick and whichever player we’re going to take there could be a game-changer for us,” Waddell told Postmedia Thursday during a break in meetings at the NHL combine.
“But as the general manager of the team, if you want to present something to us, we’ll look at it, but I counter that right away by saying it’s going to be hard for us to move that pick.”
A former GM of the Atlanta Thrashers, Waddell was selected by owner Tom Dundon to replace Ron Francis last month. The Hurricanes are going through a big transition with coach Bill Peters opting out of his contract at the end of the season and Rod Brind’Amour taking over.
The Hurricanes want to have success to help re-invigorate the market and they ’d like it to happen as quickly as possible. It’s possible they could get valuable assets in return for the No. 2 selection; however, Carolina needs to weigh how that will help the franchise.
Waddell hired his longtime friend Rick Dudley away from the Montreal Canadiens to take over the role of senior vice-president of hockey operations and you know that the Canes will have to get a lot in return if they’re really going to move the selection.
“We’ve always drafted in that No. 8 to No. 12 range. This year we go from No. 11 to No. 2 and hopefully our team is going in the right direction so we’re not going to be at the bottom picking like this,” Waddell added.
“You get chances to get a star now and then and at No. 2 there’s some players that could be difference makers for your franchise.”
The Hurricanes will have the pick of the crop at No. 2 even though they’re not going to get Dahlin. Waddell said they’ll most likely select from the group of forwards that includes Andrei Svechnikov of the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts, Filip Zadina of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Halifax Mooseheads and Boston University’s Brady Tkachuk. Waddell also likes some defensive prospects, but feels the organization is well-stocked on the blue-line.
Like the rest of the teams at the combine, Waddell is doing his homework on the players at the top of the draft and he’s watched the top 50 prospects on video.
“It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to look at our team and say we probably need a forward more than a (defenceman),” said Waddell.
“All those three guys bring a different element to the table.
“Obviously a couple of guys are pretty natural, good goal-scorers and (Tkachuk) has good pedigree and is going to be pretty good in the NHL and is going to play in the NHL for a long time to come.
“What I’ve told our group in our scouting meetings is don’t take anything for granted and look through every nook and cranny and make sure we know these guys as good as we know our kids, so when we sit down we can make that decision not on what everybody thinks we need to do, but based on what we need to do for the franchise.”
Still, Waddell has been fielding calls about the pick.
“We’ve had what I would say is one formal offer, which wasn’t close enough,” Waddell said. “I’ve got teams that I’m meeting with here in the next couple of days that at least want to talk about it. Like I said, it’s going to be hard to move.”
THE LAST WORDS
The talk is the New York Islanders will sit down for organizational meetings early next month so president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello can chart the course for the future. There has been no decision made on whether coach Doug Weight and his staff will return while Lamoriello takes a long, hard look at the organization from top to bottom. The Isles also need to figure out where GM Garth Snow fits into the new structure, but a league insider predicted Thursday “he’ll get a soft landing ” ... Former Senators coach Rick Bowness, who spent five years as an associate coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was let go by GM Steve Yzerman and coach Jon Cooper Thursday. Don’t expect Bowness, 63, to be out of work for long. There will be many teams looking for help and the speculation here is the New York Rangers may reach out to Bowness. They just hired Boston University coach David Quinn to replace Alain Vigneault, who was fired at the end of the season, and might want somebody on their staff with NHL experience. Bowness has spent his lifetime in the game.
I’ve got teams that I’m meeting with here in the next couple of days that at least want to talk about it.
DON WADDELL, Carolina Hurricanes general manager