Blue Jackets’ GM Don Waddell Talks 2026 NHL Draft, Offseason Progress & More

Don Waddell is no stranger to long days and nights. That is commonplace in the month of June when he and his staff spend the month getting ready for the bulk of the offseason.

With just nine days left until the 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo, the Blue Jackets still have a lot of business they need to take care of. Not only are they finalizing their master list for the draft itself, they have several contracts they need to make decisions on.

That’s not all. The Blue Jackets will be looking for some external help in certain areas of their team. Then after the dust of the draft settles down, they have development camp and the start of free agency to deal with.

Waddell spoke to the Hockey Writers on Tuesday for about 20 minutes to discuss the upcoming draft and give some updates on where things stand in their offseason. The first part of our talk will focus on the draft while part two looks at where things stand on the offseason.

As always, this conversation was cleaned up for clarity and flow.

The 2026 NHL Draft

THW: Don, thanks as always for doing this. For the second year in a row, you have the 14th pick of the draft. You were recently in Buffalo at the Combine. What things were you able to take away from meeting the prospects there and then what are you prioritizing if you decide to ultimately keep the 14th pick?

Waddell: “The big thing is, I got tied up with a lot of agents. I had a lot of meetings, but I sat in, let’s say the player 9-20, I sat in those interviews. We had them scheduled to where I could make sure I made it for them. The players today, they’re so much more into training and doing the right things. Some big players for sure. Some real strong guys. I haven’t looked at all the testing results because I haven’t had a chance yet. They’re more polished.”

“If we keep our pick, we’ll got a good player there. When you’re picking 14th, you don’t know who’s going to go (where.) They tell you who’s going to go the first five or six but then it’s pretty wide open. Most of those players at that point aren’t ready to come turn pro yet either.”

THW: You have already expressed an openness to trading the 14th pick if the right situation comes up. What would make a trade compelling enough for you in that situation? Where is the balance for you when deciding if a player is good enough to give up that pick?

Waddell: “I think first of all, it’s an age thing. I’m not going to trade for an older player. If it’s a younger player that’s got either a longer contract or we have rights for a number of years, that’s something we would look at for sure. But in saying that, it’s a good pick. There is a high value on that pick. Guys that I have talked to that are trying to move up in the draft, I know it’s a good value pick. I took Jarvis at 13, which he worked out pretty well for Carolina. And he came in right away. We brought him into training camp. No expectation of him staying and he proved himself that he’s ready to play in the NHL. Sometimes you never know.”

“You got to be a little but careful about a trade just saying you’re going to trade the pick. I’ll trade the pick, but it’s got to be for the right things.”

THW: Would you consider moving up if the right opportunity came about?

Waddell: “Yeah, we always talk about that. Looks like though you’d have to move past nine. The player we have at nine or 10, we might get at 14. It’s like that every year. Everybody’s got different feelings and different needs. Everybody scouts differently so you just never know.”

THW: Does the status of your prospects, whether in college, the CHL or in the AHL, affect the way you’ll handle the draft? Are there some guys you feel are ready to make the jump to the NHL as soon as next season?

Waddell: “Not really. Probably our number-one guy is Jackson Smith right now. I think him going back to school this year, I won’t be surprised after school if he’s ready to jump into the NHL. Watching a lot this year, he’s close. He could probably play this year, but going back to school is probably a good thing for him.”

“And then, we also got some kids in Cleveland that had great playoffs and a great season so we certainly have to give a look at. Last year, our roster was pretty full. This year, we’re trying to keep a spot or two where these guys can compete for it. I don’t know if it really changes your draft knowing that a guy is probably a few years away. I think we’re pretty open-minded. I’m not going to say just the best player because if we had a left-shot defenseman and a right-shot winger, because we know we’re pretty good on the left side.”

Offseason Agenda

THW: It’s your third full season here now. You have a better idea of what you have. You kept guys together trying for the playoffs. Now that you know what you have, are you more willing to make some bigger moves? And just how much of a gap is there in your mind between where you feel the Blue Jackets are at and becoming an annual playoff contender?

Waddell: “I think first, let’s take Kent Johnson. He had 24 goals two years ago. He did start slow last year and never really got it going. It’s one thing to hope a guy could score 20 goals, but it’s another thing when a guy has already done it. You know he’s capable of it. Guys like him, Dmitri Voronkov, we got to get them on track right off the start of the year. If we do that, that’s going to really help us. But you need that balance with those young kids and some of the veterans here to show them the way too. I thought Fantilli got better as the season went on and finished very strong.”

“Some of these young kids, the experience they got in the last three years, we need them to continue to grow. We signed Charlie Coyle, who we thought was such a big part of our team last year. Right-shot center and plays every game. But after that, you want to be careful with these long-term contracts because Fantilli’s going to get a big raise this year. Then you got Marchenko coming up. You got Voronkov, Johnson, Mateychuk. All these guys are going to need new contracts. Cap space goes quickly. Might be $104 million, but right now going to be $101 million, something like that, if I sign a $5 million guy along with Jet (Greaves) getting a big raise. It’s interesting. You see the cap’s going up but it goes quickly.”

THW: You probably get calls on them. Do you see Johnson and Voronkov still as part of the future in Columbus?

Waddell: “Yeah, for sure. I get calls and like I say, everybody’s willing to talk about anybody. But that said, both those guys are going to play in our top-six so I’m not trading them for draft picks or prospects. If something comes along, and not just those guys, but any guy, if you feel like you’re making your team better, that’s the deals that you got to look at.”

THW: You mentioned Coyle already. You also said you’d lean to a right-shot winger over a left-handed defenseman if having to make that choice. Is it fair to say that a top-six or nine winger is something you’d try to prioritize this offseason? Just how important is that position for your team to fill?

Waddell: “If there’s a top-nine guy that fits into what we’re trying to do here, 100%. My sense is with these free agents that it’s not a huge crop that they’re all going to get too much term and too much money. But we’ll find that out in the next (little while.)”

THW: When it comes to roster construction, what is the balance for you between keeping your own UFAs and RFAs since you know them versus looking for external help?

Waddell: “I think it’s something we’ve talked a lot about here. It’s a balancing act because you just want to be careful of the older guys and how much term they get. You got Provorov that’s locked up for a while. Monahan for another three years, Coyle and Garland, the age factor is something we’re looking at to make sure we don’t put ourselves in a spot that three or four years from now, you can’t get rid of the guys and you need the cap space. Ownership is willing to spend the money. You just have to spend it wisely.”

THW: So now your free agents. I’m sure there’s a lot you still don’t know. We’ll frame the question this way. Do you still want all three of Boone Jenner, Mason Marchment and Erik Gudbranson back? Then how confident are you that all three of them could come back if you’re able to?

Waddell: “We’re still talking to all of them. Last year, we signed Provorov and Fabbro, I think the night before free agency. I never want to say never. They’ll know what the market is and if we get the right term and the dollars make sense, I don’t mind bringing them all back. But I don’t see that happening right now. I just think some guys are going to get more term than what we want to give them and we’ll deal with that.”

THW: In my mind, Jenner could get term. Marchment could get term. Those are the two I wonder if that’s what you mean when you say they might get more term and that’s something you have to talk through. Especially with Jenner, someone who’s been with the Blue Jackets his whole career. This could still go either way, right?

Waddell: “If he gets the term he wants, I’m happy for him. I’m really happy for him because he deserves it. Players have that right to test the market. He hasn’t tested it before so if he decides to test it, then I’m happy for him if he gets what he’s looking for. Same with Marchment.”

THW: Has Jenner told you directly he’s going to test the market?

Waddell: “No, not yet. No. I’ve talked to the agent but no.”

THW: Fantilli, Greaves, Sillinger, those are your big RFAs. They’re maybe not as much of a priority as they’ll get done in due time. Do you have any kind of update or timeline on them?

Waddell: “Fantilli I think is waiting to see what happens with Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier. Nobody wants to go first. Instead of spinning my wheels, I’m focused on other things. They’ll get signed eventually for sure. There’s no doubt about that but it just doesn’t seem to be a high priority right now from their side so we’re going to continue to do our business, the things that have to be done now. Number one right now is the draft. We’ll keep working on that. In the meantime, take the calls and make the calls I need to make.”

THW: The goalie situation. Ivan Fedotov is probably not going to be back…

Waddell: “He’s not coming back.”

THW: You still have Elvis Merzlikins. I don’t think you’re considering buyouts. Do you expect Merzlikins to be with your team next season and then do you have a need for another goalie with Fedotov not returning?

Waddell: “Yeah, we do have a need for a third goalie for sure. We’re spending a lot of time on that right now seeing what’s out there and seeing potentially might be through a trade. We want to make sure we go in here with three guys that are capable of playing that’s for sure.”

THW: The Dylan Larkin trade request. I know as managers, you want to keep that stuff behind closed doors as much as possible. When that came out, did it surprise you? Is this a trend you could start to see more of moving forward?

Waddell: “Well, it’s the NBA model, you know? Players ask to be traded. They got other guys on other teams that recruit them and they ask to be traded. So I’m hoping we don’t become the NBA model but certainly that was a little surprise for all of us.”

THW: Yes. And the obvious connection because it is Larkin, you obviously have a guy in Zach Werenski. Is that something you are even remotely concerned about specific to this coming year?

Waddell: “No. I mean, you always think about it. I’m hoping we don’t have to deal with that situation, that’s for sure. I had breakfast with Werenski the day before the Norris was announced and we had a great conversation. That’s all I can go by how him and I talk about things going forward.”

THW: Leave you with this one. Your scouting staff. How do you feel like your scouting team has done of late? Have you made any kind of adjustments to way things are being handled by them?

Waddell: “We’ve changed how we’re doing things this past year. And I think the scouts adapted well to it. I think our guys do a good job. It’s just a matter of we’ve changed a little bit. I want to be a little but more risk, risk versus reward. After the first couple of rounds, I want to take some chances on some guys that maybe have a higher reward. The fourth line guys they’re geared to be, those are easier to find than top-nine guys and top-four D, that’s for sure.”