The New Jersey Devils trade deadline was interesting, to say the least. Information is emerging about why it went the way it did.
Devils President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald appeared with Rob Simpson on a recent episode of his podcast where he elaborated more on the injuries to Jonas Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton. Both players sustained injuries during the year, and Siegenthlaer needed surgery.
Tom Fitzgerald spoke with @simmerpuck yesterday and stated that along with Jack Hughes Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler are done for the year including playoffs.
He said they are not planning on having them for playoffs #njdevils
Full Episode: https://t.co/MDSaZfs8uF pic.twitter.com/KBGyJYHhBv
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) March 13, 2025
Jack Hughes was already done for the season, but Fitzgerald told Simpson that Hamilton and Siegenthaler were also done for the season, including the playoffs. Last week, Hamilton was just done for an extended period of time, while Siegenthaler was done for the rest of the regular season. Now, both guys are done, period.
“On the back end, you know, knowing that Siegenthaler, most likely was going to be all for the remainder of the season and year,” Fitzgerald said. “Then Dougie Hamilton goes down, and you lose him for the rest of the year, possibly in the playoffs.”
New Jersey Devils Had To Change Trade Deadline Plans
Simpson later followed up by asking about Hamilton’s status after Fitzgerald subtly mentioned that he did not envision having Hamilton back for the playoffs. Maybe the second round, but this group of defensemen is what he plans to have come playoff time.
“No, not right now. I think it’s going to go beyond that. It’ll go into the second round. I got to go back and do the math. I mean it just happened last week. There’s a possibility. We’re not planning on it. How’s that? Yeah, this is what we have,” Fitzgerald said.
Sheldon Keefe during the morning skate ahead of the Devils game against the Edmonton Oilers backed up his GM, saying this is the group they’ll have.
“The nature of his injury, if everything goes perfectly (he could return in the regular season), but we’re not counting it, let’s put it that way. We’re pressing on as if we don’t have him,” Sheldon Keefe said.
The Devils later confirmed that Dougie Hamilton was done for the rest of the regular season. His status for the playoffs, even if the Devils get to the second round, is doubtful. The same goes for Siegenthaler.
NHL Trade: New Jersey Devils Acquire Brian Dumoulin from Anaheim
That is three key pieces the Devils are missing heading into the stretch as they battle to hold onto the third spot in the Metro Division. You can see why they targeted defensemen, especially depth defensemen, at the deadline. Brian Domoulin won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins when Tom Fitzgerald was the Assistant General Manager there. Domoulin has filled in nicely being paired with Johnathan Kovacevic, Siegenthaler’s partner.
“We were always targeting a left shot D, and felt that was important because that was the strength of our team which starts in our net and through our back end because of our size and how we defend, and we didn’t want to kind of loosen that up a bit,” Fitzgerald added. “So, going out and targeting Brian Domoulin was important because of how he plays, what he brings to the table, and his experience and winning, which were important for the group. Like you said up top, no, you’re ever going to replace a Jack Hughes..”
Nico Daws Has Earned More Starts for the New Jersey Devils
Along with Domoulin, the Devils added Dennis Cholowski from the New York Islanders on the backend. In addition, they added Cody Glass and Daniel Sprong to fill gaps at the center position as they couldn’t close on another player they wanted.
The Devils defense remains in shambles, but it is going to be a committee that gets the job done down the stretch for them. New Jersey’s number one goalie is back in Jacob Markstrom. But it will not be easy having to deal once again without one of their top centers, two of their top four defensemen for the remainder of the year.
