Don Waddell resigned as president and general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday and was replaced on an interim basis by assistant GM Eric Tulsky until a permanent replacement is found.
"This morning, I spoke with (Hurricanes owner) Tom [Dundon] and informed him that I have come to the decision that now is the time for me to move to the next chapter of my career," Waddell said.
“I have loved my experiences in the Triangle over the past 10 years, and together with a strong team, on and off the ice, we have accomplished many great victories. I am grateful for the support I have received from so many loyal Caniacs. This organization is in strong, capable hands and well-positioned for the future."
Tulsky will be supported by Darren Yorke, who will continue in his role as Carolina assistant GM.
Waddell was hired by the Hurricanes as president in 2014 and replaced Ron Francis as GM in 2018.
He was a finalist for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award in 2019, which was won by Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney.
Prior to Waddell taking over as GM, Carolina had not made the playoffs for nine consecutive seasons. Since then, the Hurricanes have qualified for the postseason six straight times and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final twice, where they were swept each time, by the Bruins in 2019 and the Florida Panthers in 2023.
Despite that run of success, Carolina could not complete the journey to a Stanley Cup championship, which has eluded the Hurricanes since their only Cup win in 2006.
After Carolina was eliminated from this postseason with a six-game loss to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Second Round, Waddell spoke about the challenges facing the Hurricanes in the offseason.
Carolina has eight pending unrestricted free agents: forwards Jake Guentzel, Jordan Martinook, Stefan Noesen and Teuvo Teravainen, and defensemen Jalen Chatfield, Tony DeAngelo, Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei. They also have five pending restricted free agents, including forwards Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas.
"We'd like to sign them all," Waddell said Monday, two days after the Hurricanes signed coach Rod Brind'Amour and his staff to multiyear contracts. "We've got something good going here, and we'd like to keep it going. There's this thing called the (NHL) salary cap that won't allow us to do that. ...
"We haven't sat down to prioritize player by player, but we know we'd like to try to keep as much of our defense together. We think we have one of the best [defenseman] corps in the League."
