When New Jersey Devils President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald met with the media last week at the year-end press conference, he said, “We [The Devils] are not coming back with the same group.”
Tom Fitzgerald: “We Are Not Coming Back with the Same Group“
Last off-season was a busy one for Fitzgerald and the Devils. He attacked depth scoring, bringing in Stefan Noesen, Tomas Tatar, and Paul Cotter. He also added Jacob Markstrom, Johnathan Kovacevic, Brenden Dillon, and Brett Pesce. Then, at the deadline, whether it was because of injury or the plan all along, the Devils went with depth players trying to find offense.
At the deadline, Fitzgerald added guys like Daniel Sprong, Cody Glass, Brian Dumoulin, and Dennis Cholowski. Dumoulin was the only one who made an impact as the Devils dealt with injuries to Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler. However, as Fitzgerald said, he has some tough decisions with this roster.
Tom Fitzgerald’s goal this offseason for the Devils continues to be to address depth scoring. As Dave Pagnotta said on a recent episode of “The Latest,” he discusses the New Jersey Devils, their pending UFAS, and their search to improve their bottom-six and intangibles.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils Will Make Major Roster Upgrades This Offseason
Kate Pettersen: “Okay, well, in New Jersey, GM Tom Fitzgerald said, we weren’t good enough this year. So expect some moves. Now, what I’m wondering is, are you hearing that these are going to be big moves or more cosmetic, adding some smaller pieces to just beef up the bunch?
Pagnotta: “It certainly seems Kate, like New Jersey wants to re-adjust, re-jig their bottom-six and their intangible pieces to this roster.
They’ve got a number of free agents in the lower level of the roster in terms of depth pieces and quality depth pieces. That looks like that’s the area of focus, primarily for Tom Fitzgerald in New Jersey.
They’ve got some cap space to play with. They want to be a little bit more physical, add a little bit more grit to the lineup, but also be responsible at both ends.
So certainly, the anticipation in New Jersey is that they’re going to make some moves with that in mind. And hopefully that, coupled with a healthy roster next season, gets them back into what they believe to be cup contention.”
Devils Rumors: Does It Make Sense For New Jersey To Trade for Quinn Hughes?
The Devils have several unrestricted free agents, including goaltender Jake Allen, Nathan Bastian, Justin Dowling, Curtis Lazar, Tatar, Dumoulin, Sprong, and Cholowski. In addition, the Devils have three restricted free agents, including Luke Hughes, Nolan Foote, and Glass.
It will be interesting to see if the Devils will carry three goalies with Markstrom and Nico Daws signed for next season. It is highly unlikely that Bastian, Lazar, Sprong, and Cholowski will be back next season. Dumoulin could be back as a sixth or seventh defenseman, depending on the cost. He could be the guy the Devils need in case of an injury.
The Devils have about $12 million in cap space to work with, as the cap going to $95.5 million. Depending on what Luke Hughes gets on his next deal, there is not a lot of money to sign free agents. Not to mention, the free agent class is not the best. They have some internal options, but the New Jersey Devils could be making some trades again this offseason, with Tom Fitzgerald at the helm.
