Waddell has a lot on his plate right now, with the NHL Draft (nine days away in Vegas), the start of NHL free agency (on July 1) and a tricky trade to pull off involving forward
Patrik Laine, who has asked the club for a trade after 3 1/2 seasons.
Now add a coaching search.
It’s not a reflection on the importance of the decision — “I’ve got one chance to get this right,” Waddell said. “I’ve got to get this right.” — but don’t expect a new coach to be in place quickly, Waddell said.
“The way I look at it, time is on my side,” Waddell said. “You’d like to have a coach in place by free agency, but I don’t think we’ll be overly busy then.
“The thing is, there’s no other (NHL opening) to fill. So, the guys who are available today are going to be available tomorrow. I just have to make sure I do a thorough, thorough search and an investigation, really. I haven’t talked to anybody yet and I won’t talk to anybody for a day or so. Right now, I’m talking to general managers and other folks who would be familiar with the people we’re interested in.”
“You feel for them, but you’re also new to the position,” Waddell said. “We can’t be in this spot again.
“I can’t change what has happened in the past. I’m not going to worry about the past, either, just get it right today and for the future. I think the guys will around that, to be honest with you.”
Waddell had a few conversations with Vincent and with others in the organization before deciding in recent days that a change was necessary. And so the Blue Jackets will spend part of another offseason in coaching-search mode, hoping this time to get it right.
“You learn a lot in a short time, just the last two or three weeks I’ve been here in Columbus, obviously including talking with Pascal,” Waddell said. “At the end of the day, just blocking out all the noise, I just couldn’t get comfortable that he’d be the guy who could take us to the next level.”