The Columbus Blue Jackets may be rebuilding, but the team's new president and general manager is not OK with losing — even after trading away Patrik Laine.
Don Waddell, who succeeded John Davidson and Jarmo Kekäläinen as the Jackets' president and general manager, respectively, is desperately trying to change the culture of the Columbus franchise, which has only reached the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs once since the team's inception.
Waddell said that the standard of the Jackets before him is no longer accepted.
“The one thing is, I'm not saying it was everybody, but losing was acceptable [here] and losing is not acceptable,” Waddell said on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio yesterday. “We have a ways to go building this, but our goal every year should be to win the Stanley Cup, not just to win some games. It's a mindset.
“I believe what happened last year, talking to everybody, things didn't go well and they had a lot of injuries at the beginning of the year and fell out of the race pretty quick [and] they just kind of played out the season. And we have to change that.”
Don Waddell trying to turn around Columbus Blue Jackets
Part of the shift Don Waddell has attempted to make within the franchise has centered on personnel. Less than a month after taking over as president and general manager, Waddell fired head coach Pascal Vincent and ultimately hired former Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason as Vincent's replacement.
In terms of the roster, Waddell signed centerman Sean Monahan to a five-year deal, extended Kent Johnson, and re-signed Kirill Marchenko and Cole Sillinger. However, the biggest move of the offseason came earlier in the week when the Blue Jackets traded Patrik Laine to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Jordan Harris and a 2026 second-round draft pick.
Laine, who has two years left on his contract with a cap hit of $8.7 million, ended his season when he entered the player assistance program in January. With the Blue Jackets, he had 64 goals and 138 points in 174 games from 2021 to 2024.
The Jackets appear to be entering a new era in their franchise with Waddell at the helm, and the former Carolina Hurricanes executive hopes he can have a similar effect on Columbus.
“It's all about starting with accountability, a structure in place, and culture will get there,” Waddell said. “Back in Carolina when I took over and I hired Rod Brind'Amour, Rod was great about executing a plan. And I believe Dean Evason has the same mold. It has to be about hockey. Hockey first. We are all here to play hockey. We all make a good salary. So the No. 1 priority is to prepare ourselves every night. It doesn't mean you are going to win every night, but prepare yourself so you have a chance to win.”
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