Last offseason, New Jersey Devils President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald knew what he needed to improve his hockey club. Fitzgerald knew that depth scoring, defense, and having a quality number one goaltender would get the Devils back into the playoffs.
Tom Fitzgerald: “we are not coming back with the same group because it was not good enough” #njdevils @FullPressNHL @NHLrumorsX @DevilsNationX
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) May 8, 2025
However, the moves he made in the offseason and at the trade deadline fell short of expectations, and he knows the group was not good enough and will not be the same next season.
“I like our group, but my job is to continue to better the group, Fitzgerald said. “We are not coming back with the same group because it was not good enough.”
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The additions the Devils made could not get them over the hump. However, the Devils did face injury issues for the third time in four years, with Jack Hughes being lost for the season after having another shoulder surgery. Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler dealt with leg injuries before they returned in the playoffs, but they were not 100 percent. The Devils lost Brenden Dillon, Luke Hughes, and Johnathan Kovacevic to injuries in the playoffs.
While the group showed championship heart battling through adversity, it was clear that the group assembled was not good enough to produce when it mattered most. While Fitzgerald looked to add at the trade deadline, deals were not there for him to make. So he had to change his plans, though his plan was always to bring in depth, bringing in players like Brian Dumoulin, Daniel Sprong, Cody Glass, and Dennis Cholowski.
The Devils must make decisions regarding their free agents and current roster players as they look to build a sustainable winner in New Jersey.
“We’ve got a lot of decisions to make on certain players, whether we bring guys back, trade players, we won’t be coming back the same group,” Fitzgerald said.
The Devils have several unrestricted free agents this summer, including Jake Allen, Nathan Bastian, Justin Dowling, Curtis Lazar, Tomas Tatar, Dumoulin, Sprong, and Cholowski. In addition, the Devils have three restricted free agents, including Luke Hughes, Nolan Foote, and Glass.
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According to PuckPedia.com, New Jersey currently has $5,095,834 in cap space. This is after the Devils signed Arseni Gritsyuk to a $925,000 one-year entry-level deal. While the Devils’ cap number will increase slightly with Kovacevic’s inability to start the season, because of offseason knee surgery, there is still little cap space to work with, even with the salary cap going up to $95.5 million.
It is expected that Luke Hughes will sign a long-term extension, but what that number is is anyone’s guess. Some think he may have gotten close to Brock Faber‘s number at $8 million AAV. But more on that at another time. Say he gets that number, the Devils still have only $5 million to reshape the roster. Fitzgerald mentioned he wants to talk to Jake Allen’s agent to see his future, but would like to bring back the same tandem. Not to mention the improvements on the bottom-six forward group and defense.
Tom Fitzgerald will look to keep the tandem of Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen together.
He will speak with Allen’s agent about his future #NJDevils
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) May 8, 2025
This is the offseason when Tom Fitzgerald and his hockey operations staff will have to decide who will be part of their future and how to replace that production. The obvious name is Dawson Mercer, who continues to be mentioned in trade talks. One of the players the Devils tried to get at the trade deadline was Ryan O’Reilly from the Nashville Predators, but the Devils did not want to send Mercer as part of the deal.
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Even though Tom Fitzgerald did not want to comment on the Quinn Hughes situation in Vancouver, Mercer would have to be part of that trade package. At some point, the Devils have to decide on him. While his defensive game is excellent, his offensive production dropped, especially for a player who makes $4 million a season.
The New Jersey Devils are going to have another busy offseason. It is time to make tough decisions. As we have seen across the league, to improve, you have to give up something to get something. The time is now for the Devils to take that next step in their process.
Both Tom Fitzgerald and Sheldon Keefe mentioned that the team was average, and average is not good enough to win in this league. A good foundation is being built with this group, but now it is time to evaluate and change to see how the Devils can get back to being a steady playoff contender and a championship team.
The pressure is on Tom Fitzgerald, and you can tell he is feeling the heat. He made a bold statement about next season and is looking to change his roster this offseason.
