Hurricanes officially hire their new GM

UPDATE: It's not official, the Carolina Hurricanes have named Eric Tulsky as their new general manager, replacing Don Waddell who is now with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Check it out:

"Eric is ready for this opportunity,” said owner Tom Dundon in a prepared statement. “He has a proven history of managing people and overseeing operations both outside of hockey and over the last decade with the Hurricanes. His dedication, work ethic and attention to detail make him the ideal candidate to become our next general manager. Everything we do here is collaborative, and Eric will work closely with Darren Yorke, Rod Brind’Amour and our leadership team to continue building a championship-caliber hockey club.”

Read below for our earlier report on Tulsky, published last week.

According to a report from NHL insider Frank Seravalli, the Carolina Hurricanes have reportedly told candidates for their open general manager position that they intend to fill the role internally. Seravalli specifically reports that assistant GM Eric Tulsky is expected to receive a promotion for the position.

From Seravalli:

Tulsky is credited with being somewhat of an analytics guru and reportedly worked very close with former Hurricanes GM Don Waddell to help craft the team's roster. He was first hired by the team in 2014-15 and served as a data analyst until he was promoted to director of analytics in 2017-18. 

Last week Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported that whomever ended up with the Hurricanes' GM job would have to agree to do things differently. Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon reportedly has a lot of say on the team's on-ice decisions and so Tulsky will be expected to work closely with his boss to get the job done.

"One of the things the Hurricanes are making sure of is that everyone's eyes are wide open about how this is all going to work and that is whoever gets this job is going to be the general manager but not going to have the (usual) power," Friedman said on June 3. "This job is going to be a facilitator who collects information and brings it to other members of the front office ... The new GM hire is not going to have the final say."

Friedman also reported at that time that the Hurricanes had interest in former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen. As it stands though, the job is Tulsky's and he's got his work cut out for him.

The rookie GM will be tasked with handling a whopping 13 pending free agents in Carolina. Jake Guentzel, Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis, Teuvo Teravainen, Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei are all going to be difficult to come to terms with given the team's cap situation and their spot in the NHL's tough Eastern Conference. Don't be surprised if the Hurricanes initially take a bit of a step backwards with their new GM in the fold.