Eric Tulsky, a different leader at the head of the Hurricanes

He has a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Berkeley. He holds 27 patents in the United States, mainly in nanotechnology. And he’s tasked with making crucial decisions for the future of an NHL team.

Meet Eric Tulsky, who was officially named general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Tulsky was given the interim job following the departure of veteran Don Waddell last month, and he already had a lot of influence within the Hurricanes.

The fact remains that his appointment, anticipated for several days, goes beyond the framework and deserves to be examined more closely.

In addition to his scientific activities, Tulsky used to do research in the field of advanced statistics, and he shared the main points with his Twitter followers. This is how he became known in hockey circles at a time when certain more avant-garde teams were beginning to develop this niche within their staff.

When the Hurricanes hired Tulsky as a statistical analyst in 2014, data didn’t have the importance it does today in NHL team decision-making. His ideas and flair took him through the ranks, especially when Tom Dundon acquired the Hurricanes in 2017.

Eric is ready for this opportunity, Dundon said in a statement. He has a proven track record of managing personnel and overseeing operations, both outside of hockey and over the past decade with the Hurricanes. His dedication, work ethic and attention to detail make him the ideal candidate to become our next General Manager.“,”text”:”Eric is ready for this opportunity, Dundon said in a statement. He has a proven track record of managing personnel and overseeing operations, both outside of hockey and over the past decade with the Hurricanes. His dedication, work ethic and attention to detail make him the ideal candidate to become our next General Manager.”}}”>Eric is ready for this opportunity, Dundon said in a statement. He has a proven track record of managing personnel and overseeing operations, both outside of hockey and over the past decade with the Hurricanes. His dedication, work ethic and attention to detail make him the ideal candidate to become our next General Manager.

Dundon likes to do things differently. He is intimately involved in contract negotiations with players and coaches, and all decisions flow through him. That said, the Hurricanes hockey operations are just a small team where ideas and decisions are shared. An experienced CEO, accustomed to being the sole master on board and having the last word, would be disoriented by this way of doing things. And perhaps that’s one of the reasons Waddell left for Columbus, where he will have greater latitude.

As for Tulsky, who is already familiar with the company’s ways of doing things, he had the ear and trust of his boss. Making him GM permanently just adds to the list of things that make Dundon a different owner.

It would be easy to look at Tulsky’s journey and believe that the Hurricanes make all their decisions through the oracle of advanced statistics.

But that’s not entirely the case.

I always knew that a person’s eyes could pick up a lot more about a given game than the data could, Tulsky told us in an interview two weeks ago. What’s difficult is remembering everything, because there are a million billion things happening in a match. The great thing about data is that for the fraction of those things that you can track, the computer will remember them forever.

So there is on one side a broad view of everything that is happening and, on the other side, a fine view of every little thing that happens in a game. One complements the other. It is by combining the two that we obtain the best understanding of the action.“,”text”:”So on one side there is a broad view of everything that happens and, on the other side, a fine view of every little thing that happens in a game. One completes the other. It is by combining the two that we obtain the best understanding of the action.”}}”>So there is on one side a broad view of everything that is happening and, on the other side, a fine view of every little thing that happens in a game. One complements the other. It is by combining the two that we obtain the best understanding of the action

A partnership with Rod Brind’Amour

Twice, head coach Rod Brind’Amour had tough contract renewals with the Hurricanes. For him to want to stay, it was not just that the former captain of the Canes had the hurricane tattooed on his heart. He also had to want to stay because he subscribes to what the general staff is trying to do.

However, having accumulated data over the years on a multitude of aspects of hockey, the Hurricanes are at the point where the knowledge this data gives them works in symbiosis with what Brind’Amour seeks to do with its players.

It wouldn’t work if we weren’t in symbiosis, Tulsky believes. If we tried to run hockey operations based solely on data, without taking into account the wishes of the coaches, the team would not be anywhere near as good as it is today. We have to work together. You have to understand what the numbers mean, what the coaches are asking, and how it all fits together.

In my previous role, I not only managed the statistical analysis department, but also professional recruitment. So I had two levels to integrate and put together before transmitting the information to the coaches. And of course, coaches have a lot of impact and influence on what we do. It’s a very collaborative staff, where everyone in the organization has a say, and one of the big responsibilities of the CEO is to find a way to coordinate all of that.“,”text”:”In my previous role, I not only managed the statistical analysis department, but also professional recruitment. So I had two levels to integrate and put together before transmitting the information to the coaches. And of course, coaches have a lot of impact and influence on what we do. It’s a very collaborative staff, where everyone in the organization has a say, and one of the big responsibilities of the CEO is to find a way to coordinate all of that.”}}”>In my previous role, I not only managed the statistical analysis department, but also professional recruitment. So I had two levels to integrate and put together before transmitting the information to the coaches. And of course, coaches have a lot of impact and influence on what we do. It’s a very collaborative staff, where everyone in the organization has a say, and one of the big responsibilities of the CEO is to find a way to coordinate all of that.

The Hurricanes have the right to believe that they have a good opportunity. Over the past four seasons, they have posted the second-best winning percentage in the NHL (.695), just behind the Boston Bruins (.702). They only claim an appearance in the Association final during this period, but that will not deter them in what they are trying to achieve. But it’s not as if the Hurricanes will persist in following statistical dogma until the day they are right. There is a mantra of continuous improvement within the organization, and the work of all departments is reviewed annually.

We had a very strong team this year, said Tulsky. We went into the playoffs thinking we could win it all. It didn’t happen, so we need to go back and look at what went wrong, what we can do to fix it and how we can be better. It is not easy. We were in a good position this year and it’s difficult to improve after being as good as we were. But the job isn’t supposed to be easy either.“,”text”:”We had a very strong team this year, said Tulsky. We went into the playoffs thinking we could win it all. It didn’t happen, so we need to go back and look at what went wrong, what we can do to fix it and how we can be better. It is not easy. We were in a good position this year and it’s difficult to improve after being as good as we were. But the job isn’t supposed to be easy either.”}}”>We had a very strong team this year, said Tulsky. We went into the playoffs thinking we could win it all. It didn’t happen, so we need to go back and look at what went wrong, what we can do to fix it and how we can be better. It is not easy. We were in a good position this year and it’s difficult to improve after being as good as we were. But the job isn’t supposed to be easy either

Training to review

The circumstances in which Tulsky got his first GM job are almost as unusual as his career profile can be.

Because the Hurricanes were ready to win this year, several of their best players are in their prime and the window is wide open. However, forwards Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teräväinen and Jordan Martinook, as well as defensemen Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce are unrestricted free agents, not to mention rising star Seth Jarvis who needs a new contract and Martin Necas who risks to be exchanged.

That’s a lot of uncertainty around a team that had been expertly constructed.

Already, word has spread that the Hurricanes would not reach an agreement with Guentzel before the market opened and that they were ready to trade his negotiating rights. But how many more of these impact players will change addresses on the 1st?^er July?

For a man who officially becomes GM for the first time in his life – ten days before the draft no less – it’s a lot at the same time.

We have a lot of very good players reaching autonomy this year, Tulsky agreed. That means we have work to do. But we don’t want to be any worse, so our goal every year is to find a way to improve, whether it’s by signing these players to contracts or finding other ways to take steps forward.

I think we are well placed to manage this period, added. Tulsky. We’ve had challenges in the past and we’ve always done well, and I expect that to be the case again this time.“,”text”:”I think we are well placed to manage this period, he added. Tulsky. We’ve had challenges in the past and we’ve always done well, and I expect that to be the case again this time.”}}”>I think we are well placed to manage this period, added. Tulsky. We’ve had challenges in the past and we’ve always done well, and I expect that to be the case again this time.

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