The New Jersey Devils have been in trade rumours, and President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald met with the media to address his plans for Dougie Hamilton and Quinn Hughes, and what he would like to do with the club moving forward to improve it.
Fitzgerald began by saying he is responsible for where the team stands. However, he confirms he has been making calls daily. However, as he did at the trade deadline, Fitzgerald reiterated that it takes two to tango regarding getting deals done. However, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been trying.
Devils Rumors: New Jersey Looking to Add a Goal Scorer
One thing is very clear: Fitzgerald wants to be the guy to find a solution. In addition, he is looking to add up front to provide even more depth to his hockey.
“The one thing I’m trying to do is find solutions to help this organization, Fitzgerald told the local media in attendance. “I’d like to add up front. Continue to give more depth.”
As DevilsNation.com has reported, the Devils are in need of not only a scoring winger, but a center as well. This has been an area of concern for New Jersey ever since Tyler Toffoli was traded to the Winnipeg Jets at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. The Devils have been trying to replace his production ever since.
The New Jersey Devils have been linked to Brock Boeser, Rickard Rakell, Brayden Schenn, Ryan O’Reilly, and others over the past couple of seasons when they had cap space due to players being lost for the season. However, they did not want to mortgage the future and deplete their roster to the point where they couldn’t compete in the playoffs.
New Jersey Devils Failed To Get Cap Space To Get Quinn Hughes
However, Tom Fitzgerald will now be less hesitant to trade future assets if the deal is right for his club.
“Depending on the deal, I just want to get better, and if that means moving future pieces to improve this team, I’m willing to do it,” Fitzgerald told the local media.
However, as many have reported, they need to clear salary-cap space, which is an issue in New Jersey right now. Not to mention the players who have no-move or no-trade clauses. However, according to Fitzgerald, clearing cap space wasn’t an issue in acquiring Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks.
“No, not true, Fitzgerald told the local media in attendance. There are always other pieces that probably couldn’t have made it work.”
As DevilsNation.com has documented, the Devils’ acquiring Quinn Hughes was a pipe dream; the assets the Devils had would not be sufficient for the Canucks, despite the team wanting his services and reuniting the Hughes Brothers together.
The New Jersey Devils Still Need Another Goal Scorer
Speaking of no-movement and no-trade clauses, while Fitzgerald wouldn’t comment on the vetoed deal with the San Jose Sharks, he did mention that he is in constant communication with Dougie Hamilton’s agent and reiterated that this was a personnel decision to scratch him. Right now, Hamilton remains in New Jersey and is doing the job to the best of his ability.
Again, Hamilton controls all the cards like Ondrej Palat. The DevilsNation.com report was confirmed the other night by Pierre LeBrun on Insider Trading that the Devils are trying to clear cap space, and his name is out there.
However, the Devils want assets in return for these players. They aren’t going to dump them just to free up cap space. Not to mention, the Devils don’t want to retain any of these contracts. With two deadlines coming up, the Olympic Break and the March 6th Trade Deadline, it will be interesting to see how Tom Fitzgerald navigates these waters.
