Don Waddell

Donald Douglas Waddell (born August 19, 1958) is an American professional ice hockey executive and former player who is currently the president of hockey operations and general manager for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He previously held similar leadership roles with the Carolina Hurricanes and Atlanta Thrashers.

Playing career Waddell was selected 111th overall, in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. He was selected as the 3rd choice of the Los Angeles Kings on June 15, 1978. He played in the NHL for only one game with the Kings during the 1980–81 season, against the New York Rangers on January 28, 1981.

His playing career consisted mostly of minor and college hockey. He played 4 seasons at Northern Michigan University. He was one of the final cuts for the 1980 U.S. men's hockey team after he broke his leg in a pre-tournament game. He won the International Hockey League's (IHL) Governor's Trophy in 1982 for best defenseman during the regular season.

During the 1984–85 IHL season, he was traded from the Flint Generals with Jim Aldred, to the Toledo Goaldiggers in exchange for Bill Joyce and Mark Plantery.

Coaching career After his tenure as a player, he moved to coaching for the 1987–88 season with the IHL Flint Spirits as a player-coach. For the next two seasons, he moved behind the bench permanently. Waddell moved on to the IHL San Diego Gulls for the 1991–92 season. Waddell took over as interim coach of the Atlanta Thrashers during the 2002–03 season with a record of 4–5–1–0 as coach before Bob Hartley was named to the permanent job.

After a disappointing start (0–6–0) to the 2007–08 Atlanta Thrashers season, Waddell was named interim head coach of the team following the dismissal of Bob Hartley. For several months, he was able to lead the team on a turn around, but the Thrashers ultimately played poorly down the stretch and missed the playoffs.

Coaching record Team Year Regular season Postseason G W L T OTL Pts Finish Result Atlanta Thrashers 2002–03 10 4 5 1 0 9 3rd in Southeast Missed playoffs Atlanta Thrashers 2007–08 76 34 34 — 8 72 4th in Southeast Missed playoffsTotal 86 38 39 1 8

Management career Early career Waddell's first front office experience came with the International Hockey League's Flint Spirits during the 1988–89 season when he served in the dual role of head coach and general manager. He moved into Flint's front office exclusively for the 1989–90 season before joining the IHL's San Diego Gulls. He was vice president and general manager for the Gulls from 1990 to 1995 before accepting the same role with the IHL's Orlando Solar Bears. While in Orlando, Waddell was also vice president of RDV Sports and served on the organization's executive committee which oversaw the NBA's Orlando Magic, the Solar Bears and RDV Sports' retail and aviation interests.

Detroit Red Wings After leaving Orlando, Waddell served as assistant general manager of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1997–98 season, capturing the Stanley Cup.

Atlanta Thrashers On June 23, 1998, just one week after the Red Wings swept the Washington Capitals in the 1998 Stanley Cup Final, Waddell was named the first general manager of the Atlanta Thrashers. He served as general manager of the Thrashers until the conclusion of the 2009–10 season when he was promoted to team president, and Rick Dudley succeeded him as general manager. During his tenure as general manager of the Thrashers, the team recorded a 308–401–45–66 record and made their lone playoff appearance after winning the NHL's Southeast Division in 2006–07. Waddell also served as executive vice president and co-chair of the executive committee for the Thrashers' parent company, Atlanta Spirit.

Following True North's purchase of the Thrashers, Waddell announced he would not be moving with the team from Atlanta to Winnipeg.

Pittsburgh Penguins On January 21, 2012, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced their hiring of Waddell as a professional scout.

Carolina Hurricanes Waddell left the Penguins organization on July 1, 2014, to become the president of Gale Force Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes. On May 8, 2018, Waddell was named president and general manager of the Hurricanes. On May 24, 2024, Waddell resigned as president and GM of the Hurricanes, being replaced by assistant GM Eric Tulsky on an interim basis.

Columbus Blue Jackets On May 28, 2024, Waddell was named president of hockey operations, general manager and alternate governor of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1975–76 Detroit Little Caesars GLJHL 50 23 29 52 — — — — — — 1976–77 Northern Michigan University CCHA 28 11 34 45 40 — — — — — 1977–78 Northern Michigan University CCHA 32 18 34 52 44 — — — — — 1978–79 Northern Michigan University CCHA 23 5 20 25 24 — — — — — 1979–80 Northern Michigan University CCHA 37 18 32 50 30 — — — — — 1980–81 Los Angeles Kings NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1980–81 Houston Apollos CHL 31 4 5 9 23 — — — — — 1980–81 Saginaw Gears IHL 40 4 18 22 33 13 2 4 6 6 1981–82 Saginaw Gears IHL 77 26 69 95 61 14 1 17 18 0 1982–83 Saginaw Gears IHL 18 3 17 20 10 — — — — — 1982–83 New Haven Nighthawks AHL — — — — — 2 0 0 0 0 1983–84 Augsburger EV 1.GBun 8 6 5 11 10 — — — — — 1984–85 Flint Generals IHL 35 3 14 17 10 — — — — — 1984–85 Toledo Goaldiggers IHL 42 10 31 41 12 6 0 6 6 0 1985–86 Toledo Goaldiggers IHL 63 19 50 69 113 — — — — — 1985–86 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 6 1 4 5 9 5 1 2 3 4 1986–87 Flint Spirits IHL 10 1 4 5 2 6 1 3 4 4 1987–88 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 2 1 2 3 0 — — — — — 1987–88 Flint Spirits IHL 71 17 58 75 61 15 5 10 15 6 NHL totals 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — IHL totals 356 83 261 344 302 54 9 40 49 16

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1978 United States WJC 6 5 2 7 8

Awards and honors Award Year All-CCHA First Team 1977–781979–80 IHL Governor's Trophy 1981-82