They'll probably get a 1st for him, but at the very least send the PHI 2nd. It'll practically be a 1st anyway.

That said...DW doesn't do rentals...even though he should some times.

He does before the season starts. Was willing to do DeAngelo, did Pacioretty, etc etc. It's at the deadline he doesn't because he shouldn't.

That's fair on the 1st part...he does have that history. Simply VERY much disagree with the 2nd. Every team goes through injury. If Patches was needed in October...he's needed even more so in May/June. The fact that DW doesn't recognize the playoffs are more important than the regular season is frankly embarrassing.

It’s not that he doesn’t do deadline rentals because he doesn’t realize the playoffs are important. It’s more of a don’t mess with chemistry kind of thing. The Canes have historically done their big business in the offseason, so that players can build chemistry with each other through the season. The Canes want to add, but they have to find that balance where they add but don’t screw io the chemistry too much. It’s why they always buff up their depth at the deadline.

This is an AWFUL take.

Look, Barbashev looks like a genius pickup by the Knights because they won, but lets look at some of the others that now look ridiculous.

ROR to Toronto - Toronto lose him for nothing for 5 wins in the playoffs.
Kane AND Tarasenko to NEw York - 3 wins
Tampa Bay picking up Eysimmont and Jeannot - 2 wins
Boston added Orlov, Hathaway and Bertuzzi - 3 wins

Look how many cases there are of it blowing up when you pay big prices. The fact you think it's because he doesn't recognize the playoffs are important is comical. Waddell doesn't do rentals for big prices because this is a Canes team that can sustain this success for the foreseeable future with guys like Nadeau, Nikishin, Morrow, Suzuki coming through and replenishing the system. Look at what Waddell moves "major" pieces for. A 1st and a 3rd for 9 years (at least) of Jesperi Kotkaniemi. A 1st for 4 years of Brady Skjei (and he still may get back more than he paid for Skjei after an 18 goal season). Carolina's asset management is the best in the league for a reason. It's why they have been the most consistent team in the playoffs over the last 5 years. Fun fact, Carolina are the only team in that time span to win a series in the postseason each year. What Waddell does has put the Canes in a position to be a cup contender for another 6-7 years. Teams like the Rangers are starting to see that window fade because they cannot add like the Canes can. The 2 teams in the ECF last year, neither of them spent big. Carolina got there without Teravainen, without Pacioretty, without Svechnikov, without Andersen for the first round, and without Drury for parts of it. They do not need to splash out, they need to just stay healthy

This is just ignorant to reality. EVERY YEAR it's a handful of teams that'll do what TOR, NYR, TBL, BOS will do. If it's not exactly the teams you've outlined already then it'll be LAK, EDM, CHI, etc... EVERY SINGLE YEAR 7ish teams are trying to get better in order to win the cup. What your missing completely is that CAR has to go up against an entire league. Not just a few teams. You're living in a fantasy world that doesn't understand what every other team is willing to do to win. Why wouldn't you want your GM to try to win the cup as badly as others?

Who won it last year LVK (1st for round prospect in Dean)
Who won it the year before COL (1st, 3rd, Prospect for DK)
Won won it the year before TBL x 2 (Coleman for a 1st round pick and 1st round prospect...Goodrow for a 1st round pick)

That's fair. I'm not in that same camp. Other teams have been able to overcome that hurdle, but I at least understand the reasoning, though I disagree with it.

As I said, for EVERY Success story, there are multiple teams that fell flat on their face.

I mentioned last year, you want to talk about Colorados cup? New York picked up Copp, that didn't go well. Toronto added Foligno for Tampa's second Cup look how that went. Boston added Hall that year, again didn't go well. For every success story, there are 7-8 FAILURES.

You are ignoring the reality if you think its a good idea to load up at the deadline. Unless you get absolutely swamped with injuries, it's never a good idea. Washington and St Louis didn't load up, Pittsburgh didn't. Hell, Vegas added a middle six winger, which even Carolina tried to do with Puljujavi. The deadline is where sellers get a kings ransom from foolish GM's that were not good enough during the summer.

What you're missing is that Carolina just got to the 3rd round without their premier LW, a top RW, Max Pacioretty, and even had Drury and Andersen miss time. They then proceeded to beat the sh*t out of Florida all series long, and having just Svechnikov healthy likely means they win that series. They have proven time and again they do not need to add because while they are going up against an entire league as you point out, they've been a top three team in the league for the last 3 years.

Pool Party was a joke to give fan boys a distraction.

DW has proven time and again that he didn't win the Stanley Cup. MAYBE...instead of doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result...they try something different??? ACTUALLY go for it and truly try to win the cup.

Don has proven again and again he is the BEST GM IN THE NHL. If Waddell jumped at every shiny object that became available, this organization would not be anywhere near the position it is in now with an excellent young core and a prospect pool that's deeper than anyone else in the league, although it lacks true blue chips. If you don't think there were very good reasons for landing Puljujarvi, you may need to learn why this team operates the way it does. Go and learn about Eric Tulsky and his team for a start, honestly.

And seriously, Puljujarvi struggled potentially because he needed double hip surgery and wasn't disclosing his pain to anyone until the end of the year. That's the part that nobody who wants to dunk on the Canes ever brings up.

Excellent point. Puljujarvi was still a defensive monster, but had no working hips...