NEWSFLASH: Waddell Still has Job

Brooksie over at the New York Post has put a few facts together and has come to the conclusion that Atlanta GM/coach Don Waddell has no fucking idea what he’s doing. I mean, it’s not like we didn’t know, but it’s somewhat gratifying to see it framed so beautifully. Brooks’ analysis begins with the 2003 draft and how Waddell chose Braydon Coburn over Dion Phaneuf.

He goes on:

In 2007, largely because head coach Bob Hartley wouldn’t play Coburn, Waddell traded the kid defenseman to Philadelphia for veteran Alexei Zhitnik.

A season later, Hartley has been fired, Zhitnik has become a standard healthy scratch, and Coburn is emerging into a capable young defenseman in Philadelphia.

In 2005, Waddell traded the 12th-overall pick in the Entry Draft to the Rangers for the 15th and 41st selections.

The Rangers selected Marc Staal at 12. The Thrashers selected Alex Bourret at 15.

Within two years, Bourret had been traded to the Rangers for Pascal Dupuis and a third-round draft pick.

The moral of the story is that Waddell still has his job.

In Donnie’s defense, I don’t know if anyone ever actually explained to him just what his job actually is. Maybe he should play a fantasy league for a year or two ‘till he gets the jist. I think there’s a fern in his office that’s been watching him for the last couple years that could probably fill in for him in the mean time.