{"id":660059,"date":"2026-09-11T14:18:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T14:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/660059\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T14:18:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T14:18:18","slug":"2026-blue-jackets-preseason-qa-with-gm-don-waddell-part-1-frustrations-changes-patience-the-hockey-writers-columbus-blue-jackets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/660059\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Blue Jackets Preseason Q&A with GM Don Waddell, Part 1: Frustrations, Changes & Patience – The Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell<\/a> has had a very eventful last 12 months. He saw his team plummet to last place in the Eastern Conference forcing him to make a coaching change. <\/p>\n

Waddell then saw his Blue Jackets go through one of their best 24-game stretches in franchise history to be a factor in the playoff race after Rick Bowness was hired. But in the end, their 2-8-1 finish dropped them out of the playoff picture yet again.<\/p>\n

If that wasn\u2019t bad enough, Waddell found himself in the middle of an offseason that almost saw seismic changes to the Blue Jackets. But, with less than a week before training camp opens, his offseason to-do list is not done.<\/p>\n

Waddell sat down with the Hockey Writers this week for our annual preseason Q&A. He previously addressed the latest on a few situations. In case you missed those, you can read what he said below. <\/p>\n

In Part 1 of our conversation, Waddell reflects on what was the most frustrating part of last season for him. We then discuss a few of the key changes surrounding the Blue Jackets and finish with a lesson in patience. Part 2 will turn our focus to on-the-ice happenings. <\/p>\n

As always, this conversation was cleaned up for conversation and flow.<\/p>\n

Don Waddell Q&A Part 1<\/p>\n

Q: What stands out as the most frustrating part of last season to you, and why?<\/p>\n

Waddell: \u201cWe made the coaching change, went into the Olympic break pretty much on fire, came out of it and struggled a little bit, got it back together, and then went two-and-seven or three-and-seven the last nine games. That was the frustrating part. We were in a playoff spot many times, and you hope you can find a way to close that out. How we finished was the biggest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Don GM Don Waddell says how his team finished last season was the most frustrating part for him. (Photo credit: Mark Scheig, the Hockey Writers)<\/p>\n

Q: After going through a thorough evaluation, what areas were most important to address, and how do you feel you were able to do that?<\/p>\n

Waddell: \u201cWe added a big winger in (Valeri) Nichushkin. If we hadn\u2019t played the way we played last year, I think a lot of the pieces are pretty much here. Now we need some guys to have bounce-back years, and they\u2019ve all had good summers. Adding a little more grit was important. Fantilli took another step last year. I think he\u2019ll take another step. Kent Johnson had a good summer. Voronkov started well and faded at the end. It\u2019s one thing if you\u2019re counting on guys who have never done it. In Kent\u2019s case, he already had 24 goals two years ago. It\u2019s not like we\u2019re not asking guys to do things they haven\u2019t done before. We\u2019re a team that needs contributions from all four lines. Mateychuk has a year under his belt. I think he\u2019s going to continue to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, the two injuries that hurt us the most were when Severson got hurt in Montreal and the next night Olivier got hurt. Injuries play a part, but you have to play over that. That\u2019s why we added a guy like Lomberg who can give a little support for Olivier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q: You made changes in the scouting department<\/a>, including leadership. What do you hope comes from that?<\/p>\n

Waddell: \u201cWe\u2019re going to be better in Europe. Not that we were weak, but having Ville focus a lot on Europe \u2014 not just the draft, but some of the free agents and the depth of other organizations \u2014 having his expertise and experience. He\u2019ll still come over here for all the major tournaments. We\u2019ve got two head guys who are very capable. I think our scouting staff is in better shape. They\u2019ve got good people there, and geographically how it\u2019s set up now, I think it\u2019s going to be better for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q: A lot was made of the changes to how the game will be presented, especially radio going to simulcast. How long was that change being considered, and what led the team to go that way?<\/p>\n

Waddell: \u201cFirst, I wasn\u2019t involved directly with it. I sit in a lot of the meetings. I think it\u2019s been talked about for quite a bit of time, just knowing our TV contract is a lot less money than it has been in the past. A lot of teams have gone to simulcast. I went to simulcast back in 2019 in Carolina. When you start taking on less revenue, you start looking at your expenses a little harder. Fortunately we have good ownership that supports us, but we also have to run a business and make some sense out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q: How has the team evolved and adjusted to the marketplace so you can fit players like Fantilli, Marchenko, and eventually Werenski if he gets a new contract?<\/p>\n

Waddell: \u201cLast year we ended up at $94 million. We ended up at $92.7 or something. We\u2019re probably going to be pretty close to a cap team when all this gets done. We\u2019re going to add a goalie at some point, along with Fantilli. We\u2019re fortunate that ownership recognizes the best marketing plan is to have a team that makes the playoffs. They\u2019re giving us the resources to do what we need to do and put the best team on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lay out a five-year plan. We\u2019re actually going to go through that here in the next week or so because the way the summer\u2019s changed so much. We\u2019re going to have to increase some guys, of course. The whole idea I\u2019ve said all along: when you make the playoffs, we want to continue to make the playoffs for a few years so people stop talking about that and start talking about winning a Cup. We have to manage the cap today, and we have to also manage it for the years to come, because we\u2019ve got some big contracts coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q: Enough has been made about Werenski\u2019s situation. What did you learn about yourself through that situation, now that he\u2019s reaffirmed his commitment to Columbus?<\/p>\n

Waddell: \u201cIn our business you want to be patient and understand the whole situation. I went and met with Zach three different times in Detroit. Zach was always like he didn\u2019t know where the future was two years from now when his contract\u2019s up. As management we said we should probably take a look around and see if something makes sense now, because he\u2019s got high value. He won a Norris Trophy. When we potentially had a trade, I talked to Zach and he said, \u2018Don, I don\u2019t want to go anyplace. I want to be a Blue Jacket.\u2019 Patience sometimes pays off.\u201d<\/p>\n

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