The New Jersey Devils are going to miss the playoffs this season and have not made trips to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since 2009 and 2010. It was clear entering the trade deadline that the orders were simple: either find a hockey trade for the future or stand pat.
President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald chose the latter, standing pat. Again, with the season lost, it made sense to assess the rest of the season and decide which players were long-term for this team and could help provide consistent playoff appearances year after year. While Fitzgerald believed in this core at some point, tough decisions about the complementary pieces had to be made.
They did not come this past offseason, but will they come this offseason? Not to mention who will be the man in charge of making those decisions? Will it be Tom Fitzgerald or someone else?
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Tom Fitzgerald Addresses His Future with the Club
When President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald met with the media following the March 6th NHL Trade Deadline, he made it clear he was in lockstep with ownership and would be back next season.
“I sure do,” Fitzgerald said adamantly. “When we talk about the future of Nico Hischier‘s contract and what that’s going to look like, and some pieces that possibly could be available down the road. David Blitzer and I are in sync.”
There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the future of Tom Fitzgerald as President and General Manager of the organization, given the lack of success under this core. Given how he has overcorrected each offseason after failing to make the adjustments the first time.
Again, whether it was not getting a goaltender in the summer of 2023 and riding with Akira Schmid (now in Vegas) and Vitek Vanecek (now in Utah) with a young defence. Then, in the summer of 2024, fixing the defence, but not addressing the top six goal scoring, because Fitzgerald said the “goals will be there.”
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Then, in the summer of 2025, they were still not addressing the top six and getting that goal scorer after moving out Tyler Toffoli at the 2024 Trade Deadline, and just focusing on the depth scoring. Not to mention the no-movement and no-trade clauses that have been given out to 13 players. Quick extensions for Jacob Markstrom and Johnathan Kovacevic.
With the organization conducting a full re-evaluation this offseason, does that include Fitzgerald himself, as well as the rest of the staff, including the coach? While this is ultimately on the players to figure out, the moves Tom Fitzgerald has made make people wonder whether the Devils are still rebuilding or the contending team everyone thought they were.
Top Six Forward Addition
While the offence has come alive since the Olympic break, including the “Golden Boy” Jack Hughes, there is no true goal scorer in the top six. Many thought Timo Meier could be that guy, but he has turned into more of a power forward. Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier are playmakers with goal-scoring ability, but the New Jersey Devils don’t have that true sniper as they did when Toffoli was there.
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Again, you can throw Jack Hughes into the playmaking category, but he has the shot and has shown the ability to shoot the puck more than the others. But he operates better when he doesn’t have to create his own space. However, while it is good to see the offence come alive, it is too little too late, and there were too many stretches where the goals went dry.
There was a point where the New Jersey Devils were averaging a goal a game. That is not going to cut it, so if Tom Fitzgerald is still in his role, he will look into it.
“Well, it’s definitely something I’m going to look into,” Fitzgerald said. “My focus was purely on the future of this organization, moving forward, and trying to add to the current group that a player or two could grow with this group,” Fitzgerald added.
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Fitzgerald would like to add to the top six this summer and could use one of his seven NHL defenseman to get that player.
“We have seven NHL everyday players on our back end, trying to shake one of those loose here in the offseason will be my goal, and maybe to give us some help up front, maybe a top-six winger or something,” Fitzgerald added.
There are four or five players who make up the current core for the New Jersey Devils. Now it is finding the right pieces to the puzzle to make the engine work the right way, playing that fast, attacking, and relentless style of hockey that made them so good in 2023.
