Confirmed with Link: CBJ hire Don Waddell as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager. JD to serve as Senior Advisor

[MoeBartoli]

I'm pretty happy with what Waddell has done with the forwards. Monahan checks a lot of boxes - helps with faceoffs, veteran mentoring, hopefully kicks Johnny into increased production based on past history, lets the young kids grow into the #1 spot. Texier seemed pretty superfluous at this point so no issue there - gives Malatesta a chance to compete for the 4th line spot, and if not, can run with Kuraly-Danforth-Olivier.

There was no easy fix at goalie. That Elvis contract is an anchor at this point. Not ideal, but I get that the plan this year is to hope that Elvis bounces back and if not, that Tarasov and Greaves can step up.

Defense is an issue and we haven't seen anything meaningful done there besides clearing the chaff. Jack Johnson will hopefully fill the role of a good #7 D and help mentor the kids. My guess is the plan is to use Laine as a trading chip to get someone that can help back there. I'm willing to be patient here, no sense in rushing this trade. May need Laine to start season before this can be accomplished. I don't think free agency was the best route to fix the D issue anyways.

I don't need Waddell to spell out his plan exactly to the fans, but I can see the general direction and am optimistic. The reality is that the CBJ really need the young talent they already have to develop if they are going to get back to being relevant.

Good post, good summary. And I’m glad they didn’t get Necas.

 

[Xoggz22]

It’s funny - not wrong, not bad, not misplaced, just funny - that we’re all “need to solve the center problem” and now we’re building lineups and we don’t have room for Boone, Fantilli, Voronkov, Sillinger and Kuraly to play center.

DSL, this is not a push on your post, just a place I thought was appropriate for my incoming rant...

Actually, I find it more funny that we've (the fans) been clamoring for center depth and the need to have 1C potential for our entire existence, and the one thing we've seen if the turn down of trades for the 4OA, which was to target a potential 1C (more likely high end 2C?) and then added another good center to provide some guidance and now we turn on the new GM because he's done nothing. He's removed oft injured, small, fringe NHL players and started to add size and skating ability and a spine for a team that's never had one. We want to build, yet here we are a week into the new hockey year and we're already impatient that we don't have an amazing team. Can we take a breath and just see what this team looks like in October? My god people...

 

[Cyclones Rock]

I'm of the mind that it's a 3 to 5 year strategy internally.

The Monahan deal isn't exactly thrilling but I think I get what's behind it-jump start Johnny and a solid veteran presence. Bringing back JJ is a character/mentor move that has little risk.

I think Waddell is trying to build the culture of the team first and foremost. It needs fixing and he's attempting to address this. I think that there's a lot of addition by subtraction going on. Laine isn't part of the plan and that's nothing but good as far as I'm concerned. If he gets dumped for nothing with 50% retention then so be it. It would be nice to get something on the defensive end for him but I'm not counting on that. He's a Johansen Nashville type of dump at this point, IMO. Just get rid of him.

The Monahan deal isn't a cap killer. . There are far too many of those on the roster already. Waddell didn't make matters worse by signing some 30 year old to an 8 year big money deal. He's being judicious in his free agent signings-as well he should have been. He's got the Elvis situation to sort out as well. The team can't afford another big bad contract.

He's got to let the younger players sort themselves out. The only way to do that is to let them play. I have no doubt theat Waddell with act swiftly to rid the team of the younger ones who don't fit or develop at an acceptable rate. A new competent coach will be able to let the GM see what he's got and what he doesn't with the KJs and Chinakovs. He'll need this year and maybe some of next to get a handle on this portion of the roster. I expect a major trade at some point before the end of this coming season involving some of the younger players.

I guess I'd call his strategy a "brick by brick" approach. **ducks to avoid incoming debris**

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Incomplete grade right now, I want to see the coach and all the assistants get hired, and I want to see what the RFA signings look like (I wont be happy if they get to arbitration with Marchenko) as well as any potential other moves that are to be made (although I do think we're done).

But overall I think its been a good start. He changed some things up on the roster and changed the direction of the prospect pool. He is trying to set a new standard which is needed. The coaching hire must be done right, and I'm giving him all my support in it even if I personally don't love the options available. I am OK with the Monahan signing. JJ is whatever. I do wish there would have been more done with the goaltending, but I know his hands were pretty tied there. I also wish more was done for the D, but I guess that could still happen.

I don't really expect to make major strides this coming season in the standings, but I'd love to be wrong. I think I have the potential to be wrong, which is good. But we'll see.

 

[Aaaarrgghh]

I haven't put a lot of thought into that honestly, maybe I would have tried to trade for some good faceoff dude like Pageau, assuming he can still have a small bounce back closer to his former level of play. Or maybe I would have taken Wenny for the term the Sharks got him signed, idk.

But this is all irrelevant to the main point of my post anyway. I want to get a sense or some sort of confirmation from Waddell that there is a carefully though out long-term plan for the team, and that they're willing to stick to that plan. So far I'm not getting it, based on the lack of talk about outlining a long-term vision in interviews and slight incoherence between Waddell's words and actions.

I share your concerns, in particularly with regards to the incongruence between the stated objective of this off-season and the actions taken so far. But also with the rumoured Carolina trade. Necas+ for #4, even with Lindstrom gone, I would absolutely not have been a fan of. Returning to their lack of action directed towards acquiring a good D, I just assume their planned free agent deals fell through and now they are forced to look to solving it via trade. All in all, I am feeling slightly concerned specifically by the inconsistency but will wait and see for the next few months.

Talking of trades and Waddell's stated ambitions, there was an article in The Hockey News asking what Waddell would be willing to pay for Askarov. A suggestion that was put forth was Johnson + Tarasov. I would not be a fan of that at all.

 

[Indy18]

You know instead of saying the sky is falling how about everyone step away from the ledge...its only been a month and the community expecting things that could take a year or two fixed in 2-3 weeks.

 

[Aaaarrgghh]

You know instead of saying the sky is falling how about everyone step away from the ledge...its only been a month and the community expecting things that could take a year or two fixed in 2-3 weeks.

I don't know if this is partly directed at my preceding post, but if it is, there is a difference between being doom and gloom and expressing concern over that Waddell, at least so far, is not acting in accordance with his reasonable and clearly articulated ambitions. There's plenty of room for nuance. At least for now. The sky is scheduled to fall down this coming autumn.

 

[squashmaple]

You know instead of saying the sky is falling how about everyone step away from the ledge...its only been a month and the community expecting things that could take a year or two fixed in 2-3 weeks.

This place is for complaining.

 

[Indy18]

I don't know if this is partly directed at my preceding post, but if it is, there is a difference between being doom and gloom and expressing concern over that Waddell, at least so far, is not acting in accordance with his reasonable and clearly articulated ambitions. There's plenty of room for nuance. At least for now. The sky is scheduled to fall down this coming autumn.

Yes...this was to be expected...you were not going to gain 20+ points by signing a 2C and an LHD3 in FA. A FA period mind you where there was an insane amount of tampering, we had no coach in place and just came off back to back lotto seasons (and honestly the Monahan contract doesn't even break into the top 10 worst contracts of the day...there are several contracts that are not going to look good in 3-5 years *cough cough Boston* at a higher price). Right now we are in the cultivation stage of the rebuild. We have the pieces and just need to get them to grow. I think people think like the NFL draft where kids come out at 22-23 and have almost an immediate impact. Look at the ages of our "key" players...they are 2-3 years from the start of their prime years.

Also ignore NHL twitter rumors and those clickbait youtubers. They are no different than Capfriendly Arm Chair GMs except they get paid for it through views. Listen to the beat writers like Portzline as they would be the person who would have a better idea of what's actually going on as he did call the Jack Johnson one as a recent example where that was no nobody elses radar.

 

[GoJackets1]

I think the team will be surprisingly good next year, especially with a coach of either Evason or McLellan’s caliber. Goaltending is obviously the biggest question mark but I believe that the defense can be significantly better with better coaching. With crap coaching, they could’ve had at least 35 wins last season if they held onto leads. In terms of the division, I’m sorry but there’s just no way the Flyers are better than us on paper.

 

[Indy18]

It’s funny - not wrong, not bad, not misplaced, just funny - that we’re all “need to solve the center problem” and now we’re building lineups and we don’t have room for Boone, Fantilli, Voronkov, Sillinger and Kuraly to play center.

That's called depth...that means when one or two of the guys listed above gets injured we can just move pieces around and have them take some reps at center. I know its weird concept, its something this team hasn't had in a very long time, if ever down the middle

 

[ColumbusTrill]

So people's biggest gripe with Waddell is a trade they didn’t like that he didn't end up completing? A trade we don’t know the details for. Seems kinda ridiculous to use that as a knock on him. It’s very early in the offseason and we have some pieces that are difficult to move

 

[koteka]

This place is for complaining.

My wife certainly doesn’t want me to complain to her about a stupid hockey team, so I have to come here.

 

[Viqsi]

So people's biggest gripe with Waddell is a trade they didn’t like that he didn't end up completing?

Can't speak for others, but for me my biggest (by no means only) gripe with him is how he started out saying he was going to put special emphasis on defense - a stark necessity given the lack of any pairing we can rely on against heavy opposition - and then when free agency came around proceeded to instead sign another defensively deficient center for more than he's worth then sit back and watch as pretty much every single shutdown blueliner on the market was scooped up one after another after another after another.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

That's called depth...that means when one or two of the guys listed above gets injured we can just move pieces around and have them take some reps at center. I know its weird concept, its something this team hasn't had in a very long time, if ever down the middle

I thought the center issue was quality.

 

[Hittsall]

1st time poster ( but a serious lurker here), and I'm probably gonna get flamed, but here's my take.

I thing GMDW is doing it exactly how it should be done! While the results to date may not be what we want, I think he trying to follow thru on his "promises" but just hasn't been able to get there to things out of his control.

This team has been a mess for years and I'm not expecting him to fix it in a few months, but I truly believe he's steering us in the right direction and I think he has a much broader vision than Jarmo (and I will confess that I was a Jarmo groupie).

So, let's sit back and give him some time and room and then we can enjoy The New Era of Jackets Hockey!

Now, flame away in 5..4..3..2..1.....

 

[ColumbusTrill]

Can't speak for others, but for me my biggest (by no means only) gripe with him is how he started out saying he was going to put special emphasis on defense - a stark necessity given the lack of any pairing we can rely on against heavy opposition - and then when free agency came around proceeded to instead sign another defensively deficient center for more than he's worth then sit back and watch as pretty much every single shutdown blueliner on the market was scooped up one after another after another after another.

It’s also July. I know it’s fun to get worked up but the Stanley cup ended less than two weeks ago

 

[Ice9]

Wide chasm between wanting to add certain players and actually making it happen. They kinda have to want you too...who knows who he targeted?

 

[Indy18]

Wide chasm between wanting to add certain players and actually making it happen. They kinda have to want you too...who knows who he targeted?

Feels like something like that happened. We had a few targets for FA as the LHD3, they all fell through because the other offer was more enticing. Thinking back we don't even have a head coach that would be hard for someone to commit too especially after we hired babcock (ps no Q pls thank you)

 

[koteka]

we don't even have a head coach that would be hard for someone to commit

This.

JMFJ lives in Columbus. That is why he signed here. It sounds like we were bidding against the Flames for Monahan. He took the money.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

1st time poster ( but a serious lurker here), and I'm probably gonna get flamed, but here's my take.

I thing GMDW is doing it exactly how it should be done! While the results to date may not be what we want, I think he trying to follow thru on his "promises" but just hasn't been able to get there to things out of his control.

This team has been a mess for years and I'm not expecting him to fix it in a few months, but I truly believe he's steering us in the right direction and I think he has a much broader vision than Jarmo (and I will confess that I was a Jarmo groupie).

So, let's sit back and give him some time and room and then we can enjoy The New Era of Jackets Hockey!

Now, flame away in 5..4..3..2..1.....

Welcome! As senior moderator it’s my job to inform you of the board’s high standards for discussion and debate, which we expect you to uphold in honor…

Pfft - I tried to keep a straight face.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Waddo

 

[Xoggz22]

My wife certainly doesn’t want me to complain to her about a stupid hockey team, so I have to come here.

I will second that

 

[Indy18]

JMFJ lives in Columbus. That is why he signed here. It sounds like we were bidding against the Flames for Monahan. He took the money.

Yeah with Monahan sounds like there was at least a 3 way bidding war going on and eventually both Jets/Columbus threw down exactly 5x5.5 on the table. Monahan probably came here for Johnny as the tiebreaker.

Personally I would love to be in the room for these discussions to see how it goes down because the exact same thing happened with Gudbranson were several teams had 3x4 (which now seems like the correct contract length but I have no issue for my big guy as I too am a Gudbranson apologist) and we slapped down a 4x4 to run everyone else off. I would love to see how many players are actually targetted by a FO and how many working "lines" are going at once. I find the concept fascinating.

 

[CBJx614]

Yeah with Monahan sounds like there was at least a 3 way bidding war going on and eventually both Jets/Columbus threw down exactly 5x5.5 on the table. Monahan probably came here for Johnny as the tiebreaker.

Personally I would love to be in the room for these discussions to see how it goes down because the exact same thing happened with Gudbranson were several teams had 3x4 (which now seems like the correct contract length but I have no issue for my big guy as I too am a Gudbranson apologist) and we slapped down a 4x4 to run everyone else off. I would love to see how many players are actually targetted by a FO and how many working "lines" are going at once. I find the concept fascinating.

Same, there's just so many variables to everything that we as fans just don't get to see when it comes to stuff like UFAs/Trades/Draft