Don Waddell is too busy to be excited.
From scouting meetings to contract discussions to free agency and trade conversations, not to mention a trip to Buffalo, N.Y., for the NHL Scouting Combine, the Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and general manager's schedule has been jam-packed in the month of June.
As the NHL draft and the opening of free agency loom on the league calendar, Waddell is busy, to say the least.
“I don’t have time to get excited,” Waddell said. “But there’s a lot going on, which is good.”
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After a season that saw an improvement in countless areas, including the most goals scored in single season in Blue Jackets history and a 23-point jump in the standings compared to 2023-24, Waddell is tasked with improving the roster to be both competitive next season and structurally sound for years to come – a “five-year plan,” he says.
“As the GM of the team, you always have to look to see how you can make yourself better,” Waddell said. “I think we have great leadership on this team. We proved that last year, with all the things that happened to this franchise.
“We want to be better at every position we possibly can, particularly if we can land the top-six forward (and) a defenseman. If it's not one of our own unrestricted free agents, somebody else in the marketplace.”
Free Agency and Trade Buzz
Waddell won’t be making the trip to Los Angeles next week for the NHL draft – no executives from the 32 NHL teams will because of this year’s decentralized format. Instead, he opted to fly to Buffalo the first week of June for the combine, which quickly became a cauldron for conversations to boil through the hockey world.
With the combine being the only time NHL front offices congregated face-to-face ahead of the draft, discussions soared – not just about the top prospects in this year’s draft, but about free agency, trades and what each club has on the table.
“I've been to probably 15 or 20 combines. (This year) there was by far the most talk ever about trades because of the draft being decentralized,” Waddell said. “I hadn't been to the combine the last couple years, but I felt it was important to be there. Almost every agent and GM was there, (and) you always get more accomplished face to face. So I took those three days as an opportunity to meet with a lot of people, including the players.”
Behind his desk, Waddell has a sheet from a legal pad he used in Buffalo with around 50 names written on it – some highlighted, some left alone, and others scribbled out. At the combine, Waddell was jotting down the players that could be available to look into – whether it be through free agency or notable names on the trading block.
As for what’s available from the Blue Jackets’ end, the answer starts with the team's two first-round picks in the upcoming draft.
“I told everybody that my picks are in play,” Waddell said. “We're willing to trade some players. It's part of the business. You don't trade players for any other reason, unless you think you're making your team better. So we look at all possibilities.”
Though the Blue Jackets have more than $40 million in cap space this summer, Waddell has identified the trade market as his ideal method of improving his team. He’s also been in discussion with pending UFA defensemen Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro, but there could be a few tricks up his sleeve to anchor the defensive corps for next season.
“We feel like we need to make sure we get anchored down on defense,” Waddell said. “There are some other guys that we still have some interest in, but we haven't had much dialogue, but we've been focusing more on our defense right now.”
A few notable names stick out in this year’s free agent market, including forwards Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand, but there is a noticeable lack of depth on the back end. Keeping Provorov and Fabbro could help combat that while leaving room for potential trade opportunities to help address the defensive corps.
And while having ample cap room can be helpful, Waddell is cautious not to overspend once the calendar flips to July 1. In one year’s time, he’ll have even more contracts to worry about – Boone Jenner and Erik Gudbranson are set to be unrestricted free agents next July, while Cole Sillinger, Yegor Chinakhov and Adam Fantilli will be RFAs in summer 2026.
"What happens in free agency is you always give too many years and too much money, so you want to be careful there,” Waddell said. “I've done it. I've seen other teams do it. So you just have to make sure that if you're going to go long term on the player, that he's a player that's going to fit on your team for the next five, seven years. Otherwise, when you’re trading for a player, you already know they have a contract, how many years you own their rights for – that's already baked in there.”
With seven picks in this year’s draft, including two first-round choices (No. 14 and No. 20), that’s a lot of currency Waddell has at his disposal to leverage on – or before – draft night, while shopping current roster players appears to be an option, too.
“Obviously, there's some guys I'm not trading for sure,” Waddell said. “But Wayne Gretzky got traded, so you never know.”
NHL Draft Upcoming
While the combine gave Waddell an opportunity to discuss trades, it also served its intended purpose – getting to know some of the top upcoming talent. Should the Blue Jackets utilize both of their first-round picks come June 27, they have the opportunity to add to an already strong prospect pool.
Naturally, executives are able to evaluate players on their fitness tests and workouts across the few days in Buffalo. For Waddell, like many other general managers, the combine also allowed him to chat face-to-face with some of the prospects he and his staff have their eyes on.
“I always get something from the interviews,” Waddell said. “The whole idea of the interviews is to try to learn about the person and the person's family and how they were brought up. In all my years, I’ve never moved a player up because of an interview, but definitely moved players down because of interviews.”
With two picks in the middle of the first round, it’s a different kind of preparation for Waddell than one year ago, when the Blue Jackets ultimately drafted Cayden Lindstrom with the fourth overall pick. In fact, picking later in the first round comes with its challenges.
“I think after the top six or seven picks, it's pretty wide open after that,” Waddell said. “I sent our scouts the list of those 10 players that are in our wheelhouse, and I had all the scouts watch them and give me their opinion on them. There’s a lot more homework that's got to go into which player you want to pick at No. 14.”
Almost every mock draft out there has linked the Blue Jackets to different selections. Some big defensemen could be picked up in the 14-20 range, including Jackson Smith (Tri-City, WHL), Logan Hensler (University of Wisconsin) and Blake Fiddler (Edmonton, WHL), while there are a number of centers also available in a draft filled with pivots. There has even been talk of the Blue Jackets picking up a goaltender, with Joshua Ravensbergen (Prince George, WHL) being discussed as potentially the first netminder to be taken in the opening round since 2021.
Above all, though, drafting the middle of the round comes down to picking the best available pieces.
“These players are three, four years away, so I always say, take the best player available to you,” Waddell said. “There's a big deficit of right-hand shot centers, right-hand shot defensemen – right-hand shots, period. So if you're just stuck on that plan, you might miss out on a player that could be a real good center. You just have to be careful with that.”
Whether the Blue Jackets make both selections or neither in the first round, Waddell’s motives all have intention: making the team better.
“Picks are important, and we've got a pretty good stockpile of young players right now that are either here or coming,” Waddell said. “So I'm not afraid (trading the picks). If there's an opportunity to make our team better today, these are options that we definitely want to look at.”
