Blue Jackets’ Waddell Talks Upcoming NHL Draft & Free Agency

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are in the midst of an intense busy stretch of their offseason. They now enter the week of the 2024 NHL Draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Then come the following Monday, free agency officially opens.

Team President and General Manager Don Waddell met with the media on Thursday morning to discuss a wide variety of topics. In case you missed Part 1, we talked about Pascal Vincent’s dismissal, what the team is looking for in their next head coach and gave an update on where things stand with Patrik Laine.

Waddell on NHL Draft

Our focus now shifts to the NHL Draft and to free agency. The Blue Jackets figure to be right in the middle of the action when the first round opens on Friday night. They have the fourth-overall pick. They also will have to decide after the first round if they will give their second-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers to help complete the Ivan Provorov trade.

Waddell believes that this draft is critical for the Blue Jackets.

“This preparation for the draft is critical for this franchise,” Waddell said. “Fourth pick overall is an important pick and we have to make sure we get it right. So it’s a lot of focus on that right now.”

The Blue Jackets spoke to a number of prospects at the NHL Combine in Buffalo earlier in June. They spoke to all of the top prospects who could potentially go fourth overall. That will not be the last conversation with the top prospects before Friday night.

“We’ll do a lot more interviews next week in Vegas with the top players,” Waddell said. “But I think everything’s moving along. I’m happy with the progress we’ve made. You can’t do this job alone. You need to surround yourself with good people and that’s what we’ve done here.”

With the Blue Jackets holding the fourth pick, teams below them will call to see if there is any potential to trade up. Waddell says that the talks have begun with other teams about different trade possibilities.

“There’s been some talk. I know next week is when it really picks up,” Waddell said. But it’s an interesting draft this year because if you look at the experts out there, which is you guys, the media, they talk about (Macklin) Celebrini being one and then after that two through seven or eight. There’s different lists that you look at. They’re all different.”

“So it’s been some teams even around us are talking about trying to move back a little bit if you’re gonna get a nice asset with it. There’s chatter going on, but I expect that to really pick up next week. And again, we’re open. We’re open. If we keep the pick, we’re gonna get a great player. And if we trade the pick, it’s gonna have to be a great deal for us.”

Don Waddell, Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell says the team must get the fourth pick right. (Photo credit: Mark Scheig, the Hockey Writers)

With other teams also expressing interest in making their first-round pick available, this sets up for some unique opportunities for teams to either trade up if a player they love falls or trade back if they player they want might still be available. It would take a lot for the Blue Jackets to move off the fourth pick. But it’s not impossible either. Waddell says the team is open for business.

Free Agency

Just a couple days after the NHL Draft is completed, the free agency period opens. It officially opens at noon eastern on Monday July 1.

Given the items on the to-do list, it’s reasonable to conclude that the Blue Jackets will certainly look around to see if a player or a situation makes sense. But it’s also reasonable to conclude that they won’t make a huge splash either.

With several contracts that need to be decided and the number of players vying for a roster spot in the fall, that’s where the Blue Jackets will put most of their focus on after the draft. However Waddell believes some needs can be filled.

“We just had pro meetings last week,” Waddell said. “I don’t think there’s any game changers if that’s what you’re looking for, maybe some spots we want to address. Bottom-six forwards, maybe a defenseman. I don’t look at it that we’re gonna get a major game changer through free agency. But I think there’s some things we’d like to add for sure.”

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It’s interesting that Waddell admitted needing “maybe a defenseman.” The Blue Jackets already have players on the NHL roster coupled with players like David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk that are close to being ready. This could imply some decisions will be made on current players. It also opens the door for potential deals.

Hearing all this and it makes sense when Waddell said the roster could look different in the fall. The next week to 10 days could prove to be very interesting for the Blue Jackets.

Side Dishes

  • The Blue Jackets re-signed Yegor Chinakhov to a two-year deal with an AAV of $2.1 million. That was Waddell’s first signing since joining the team. It’s a fair deal for both sides. Chinakhov has dealt with injuries of late. This contract will allow him the chance to show what he can do consistently while staying healthy. The $2.1 million is a good number for the team especially if the player can fill the net like he has shown before.
  • Waddell confirmed at least three staffers were in Florida at Dan Milstein’s camp where top prospect Ivan Demidov was. It is believed this group included Ville Siren, Trevor Timmins and John Davidson.
  • Waddell said he watched the Monsters playoff run. He made it to Cleveland but didn’t make it to Hershey. “I think development is critical for the long-term success. We wanna sustain success and you’re gonna do that by having a good farm system. Drafting well, developing your players, getting them in the farm system because we all know you can’t continue to build your team through free agency.”
  • Waddell shared an example of when AHL Charlotte got to play in 27 playoff games in one season. “It’s more than a quarter of the season and I don’t care what level of hockey you’re playing at. You’re playing the playoffs. It’s hard hockey.” It’s safe to say the Monsters will be an integral part of things in the coming years for development sake.
  • So now the upcoming week’s schedule. Monday is Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The buyout window opens 48 hours after that. Then it’s the NHL Awards Thursday, the NHL Draft Friday and Saturday followed by free agency. Don’t discount the possibility of news on Tuesday and Wednesday leading up to the NHL Draft. Hope you all keep your phones charged and are ready for what will truly be a crazy week in hockey.