In Part 1 of our conversation with Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell, we talked everything from last season’s frustrations to several key changes within the team. We even went as far as discussing what he learned about himself from the Zach Werenski situation this offseason.
We now shift our focus to the upcoming season and what the Blue Jackets hope to accomplish. The team made some targeted changes to help bolster their roster. Even despite the noise that’s still hovering around them given that certain situations remain unresolved (Adam Fantilli’s contract, Kirill Marchenko’s future), there is a belief within the room that they can take the next step this season.
In Part 2 of our conversation with Waddell, he discussed why bigger moves weren’t made and what that says about the roster. We also touched on what more of an impact head coach Rick Bowness will have. We end with what gives the team confidence that 2026-27 will be different than the previous six years.
Like in the first part, our conversation was cleaned up for clarity and flow.
Don Waddell Q&A, Part 2
Q: Boone Jenner and Mason Marchment are gone. You added Valeri Nichushkin and Ryan Lomberg. How do you feel about the roster as it sits, and is there still a hole you hope to fill?
Waddell: “If we don’t trade anybody off this roster, I don’t believe so. I think we’re pretty happy. We think we have seven or eight top-two-line guys. We feel like we got some depth there. We added (Conor) Garland at the end of the year, and Marchment came in at the end of December. We’re going to continue talking about it of course, but as of now, we think we’re in pretty good shape that way.”
Q: The team looks bigger with Nichushkin and Lomberg, and both can skate. You already had a good skating team. How does that change the way you play, especially on the walls? Can you be a tougher team to play against if Voronkov is back to form?
Waddell: “For sure. When we talk about adding players, we always talk about speed. If you look at the numbers after Rick took over, the one area that got so much better was defensively. Scoring goals is always a challenge. You can’t guarantee it. You can guarantee how you’re going to play defense. If you play the right way and play as a unit of five, our goals-against got better after Rick took over. I think that’s going to be a mainstay for our team. We still have to score goals. That doesn’t come easy. Defensively, I think we’ll pick up where we left off last year, and now having a full summer is going to make it better for everybody.”
Q: What does a full offseason with Rick Bowness give you, especially on structure and mentality?
Waddell: “I talk to him probably five times a week. He worked all summer. He talked to players on a very regular basis, telling them what to expect in camp. Camp is shorter and the veterans are only playing two exhibition games, so he was preparing them for what’s in front of them. Every week, he’s having meetings with the coaches via (Microsoft) Teams. All the coaches are here as we speak today. They started at 9 this morning. Preparation-wise, we’re going to be in as good a shape as we’ve ever been.”
Don Waddell believes a full offseason of Rick Bowness will put the team in good shape. (Photo credit: Mark Scheig, the Hockey Writers)
Q: With a shortened camp and fewer preseason games, how do you evaluate players and decide who plays?
Waddell: “We’ve been talking about it for the last three weeks and we’ll talk more this week. One of the games toward the end, Rick basically wants half the team that’s going to start opening night to play. Then with the veteran rules, we have to sprinkle guys into the other three games. We’re going through that process now. There are some young guys we want to get a good look at — (Jack) Williams, (Luca) Del Bel Belluz. Rick doesn’t know those guys. We want to give them a chance to make the team out of camp, especially with (Isac) Lundström out and looking at what our depth looks like if we need to call guys up.”
Q: You kept the core together, similar to what you did in Carolina before they won the Cup. After two seasons of falling short of the playoffs, what gave you the confidence not to make bigger changes?
Waddell: “Watching the last two years, we didn’t make the playoffs. We came up short both years. We’re counting on some of our younger guys to be better. If we’d finished with 80 points and been 12 or 14 points out, we might be talking differently. But we were knocking on the door in the last couple games both seasons. In this situation, I didn’t think you needed wholesale changes. You need the young guys to take the next step forward and the new guys to fit into the equation. If they do that, I think we’re a better hockey team.”
Q: Everyone connected to this team is tired of missing the playoffs. What does real progress look like to you? How has ownership received that message, and what should give fans confidence you’re on the right path?
Waddell: “Ownership gives us all the resources to put the best team together we possibly can. Knocking on the door the last two years, there would be disappointment. You can’t control injuries. Getting in the playoffs is 100 percent the goal. At some point, we have to stop talking about just making the playoffs and start talking about taking the next step.”
“Ownership isn’t public. They don’t like the limelight. But they give us the resources. Last year we made a coaching change — 100 percent supportive. We made changes to the assistants this year — 100 percent supportive. They’ve done everything they can from an ownership standpoint. We had the airplane issue. Now we’re in the process of buying our own plane. There are no excuses. We have one of the best facilities in the league with the locker room and practice rink right there. It’s up to us to go get the job done now.”
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