Time is Ticking on Tom Fitzgerald's Tenure as General Manager

The Devils are a mess right now, plain and simple. Five losses in a row. 3-8-0 in their last 11. One goal in their last nine periods. Just one point ahead of Columbus for last place in the Metropolitan Division. The panic button has absolutely been pressed.

The Devils are once again living life without their franchise player, Jack Hughes. Does Hughes' absence change the Devils tremendously? Yes, absolutely. Should a Jack Hughes injury absolutely handicap the Devils? No, absolutely not. However, year after year, when the inevitable happens, the Devils roll over and become a shell of themselves. It is an absolute indictment of the team's general manager and completely questions his ability to construct a roster.

Tom Fitzgerald took over as the Devils' General Manager after the firing of his mentor, the late Ray Shero, at the midway point of the 2019-20 season, which was later cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ray Shero's fingerprints are all over this current Devils roster. He was the man who selected Nico Hischier first overall in 2017 and Jack Hughes in 2019. The two faces of the franchise at the center position, which alluded to Ray Shero's tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins, during which he led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup Championship on the backs of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. It was clear that Shero wanted to replicate this recipe in New Jersey. Shero is also responsible for finding a late-round gem in Jesper Bratt (162nd overall in 2016).

Ray Shero's tenure would end up crumbling when ownership felt the team was heading in the wrong direction following the trade of Taylor Hall for futures, and it was clear the Devils were not out of the woods of a rebuild. Fitzgerald was trusted with guiding this team into contender status. Fitzgerald's first two years at the helm saw the accumulation of draft capital after trading away guys like Andy Greene, Blake Coleman, Travis Zajac, and Kyle Palmieri. Along with Shero's trade of Taylor Hall, the Devils were set up to have three first-round picks in 2020 and two first-rounders in 2021. This draft capital and what Fitzgerald was able to do with it may be one of the more damning indictments against him.

2020

7th Overall: Alexander Holtz (later traded away along with Akira Schmid, for Paul Cotter)

18th Overall: Dawson Mercer

20th Overall: Shakir Mukhamadullin (later involved in the trade for Timo Meier)

2021

4th Overall: Luke Hughes (signed to 7yr/$63 million extension)

29th Overall: Chase Stillman (yet to play an NHL game, involved in the Cody Glass trade)

2022

2nd Overall: Simon Nemec (having a breakout season on the Devils' blue line, hindsight probably would have seen the Devils take a center. Regardless, Fitzgerald gets a pass on this one)

Of the six first-round selections shown above, the Devils have three players currently on their roster. Dawson Mercer is a solid player for the Devils who has struggled with consistency throughout his first four seasons in the NHL. He's currently being played out of position at center due to the lack of depth this team has when a Hughes injury arises. Which is why the Nemec pick over Logan Cooley or Shane Wright is a head-scratcher in hindsight. Everyone and their mother knew who the Devils would select fourth overall in 2021. The brother of Jack, Luke Hughes, has had an up-and-down start to his career. Fitzgerald allowed negotiations to go into training camp before extending him this offseason long-term to an identical deal to Dougie Hamilton's 7yr/$63m contract. The Devils, just like they did with Jack, signed Luke for his potential, not exactly what he's done to this point.

Fitzgerald's drafting woes are highlighted by Alexander Holtz, who was thought to be a Swedish sniper who would be in the Devils' top-six for years to come alongside Hughes or Hischier. Holtz rarely showed flashes and was played down in the lineup by Lindy Ruff and now spends most of his nights in the press box for the Vegas Golden Knights. This whiff by Fitzgerald would not hurt as badly if the next three picks didn't become solid NHL regulars like Buffalo's Jack Quinn, Minnesota's Marco Rossi, and Winnipeg's Cole Perfetti. It also would not hurt as badly if the seventh overall pick and crown jewel of the Devils' prospect pool at one point (not to mention being packaged with Akira Schmid) was not traded for a fourth-liner in Paul Cotter, who has regressed in year two with the team. Perhaps the most egregious draft choice by Fitzgerlad was the selection of Chase Stillman, who predictably has yet to even sniff NHL ice.

Goaltending

When a team is fortunate enough to have the greatest of all time in their net for over twenty years, it's easy to think that the Devils took those twenty years for granted. Because we did. It has been an absolute rollercoaster in the goalie crease for Tom Fitzgerald's Devils. Mackenzie Blackwood, Cory Schneider, Aaron Dell, Scott Wedgewood, Eric Comrie, Louis Domingue, Gilles Senn, Nico Daws, Jon Gillies, Jonathan Bernier, Andrew Hammond, Akira Schmid, Vitek Vanacek, Kaapo Kahkonen, Jake Allen, and Jacob Markstrom. 16 goaltenders have played games for the Devils under Tom Fitzgerald. That isn't counting Corey Crawford's signing that was immediately followed by his retirement before the 2021 season.

The talent on that list is simply not impressive. However, Fitzgerald has continued to employ goaltending coach Dave Rogalski. Is it an easy out to always blame coaching for underperforming goalies? Of course. However, there is proof here that there might just be an issue within the Devils organization. Scott Wedgewood, who was put on waivers by Fitzgerald, is now thriving in a 1A, 1B goalie pairing in Colorado, who sit at 21-2-6. Who's 1B? Mackenzie Blackwood, another goalie that Fitzgerald chased out of town. Akira Schmid, who was the Devils' playoff hero in 2022-23, led the Devils to their first series win in 11 years. Fitzgerald shipped him out of Jersey for a depth forward, and Schmid reintroduced himself to the Devils this past Friday. Blanking them in their own building. Logan Thompson was also someone the Devils had in their system, and now he's anchoring the crease for the division rival Washington Capitals.

The present-day goaltending picture. Jake Allen, 35, and Jacob Markstrom, 35. Allen was brought in at the trade deadline in 2023-24 and recently signed an extension with the team with a team-friendly value of $1.8 million AAV over the next five years. This is completely fine for New Jersey and actually a deal Fitzgerald should be applauded for. However, it's more difficult to understand when your "starting goalie" is also 35. Jacob Markstrom was supposed to be the answer in goal for the Devils for the foreseeable future. A steady veteran who showed no signs of slowing down prior to Fitzgerald pulling the trigger on a deal with Calgary in exchange for Kevin Bahl and a first-round pick. Markstrom had a great first year with the Devils, but so far in 2025-26, Markstrom has shown signs of regression. Despite this, Fitzgerald has already gone ahead and extended the Swedish goaltender two more seasons after this, carrying an AAV of $6 million per season. A considerable rise against the Devils' cap picture.

It's fair to argue that all Fitzgerald did was kick the goaltending problem down the road by relying on two goaltenders who will be closer to 40 than 30 by season's end. It puts Nico Daws' Devils career in jeopardy, and it puts the microscope on Boston University's Mikhail Yegerov to be the final answer long-term for the Devils.

Roster Construction

With Fitzgerald's drafting being lackluster aside from a few contributors, the Devils have mainly been put together by Shero's picks and through trades, and free agency. When you are handed two franchise centers, especially two that take team-friendly deals, you need to build around them. One of the biggest indictments against Tom Fitzgerald has been the handling of his top-six.

When free agency opened in the summer of 2022, the Devils were in the rumor mill of signing the late Johnny Gaudreau. The Devils had money to spend and were looking to take the next step as a franchise after signing the big fish in 2021, Dougie Hamilton to a 7yr/$9m deal, which made him one of the first big-name guys to choose New Jersey. When Gaudreau decided to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets, it seemed as though Fitzgerald was left with a panic signing, which is still relevant to their on-ice struggles today. Ondrej Palat inked a 5yr/$6 million deal with the team.

Palat has had a very accomplished career, winning two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning and being one of the most clutch players in playoff history. However, the Devils were not getting that version of Palat, and it has shown year after year why the signing was a mistake for New Jersey. Yet, still, Palat is featured most times on the first line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt.

That same summer, Fitzgerlad moved out Pavel Zacha in exchange for Erik Haula. Who, then, was later moved out on a cap dump this past summer. John Marino came aboard that summer as well in a trade where Pittsburgh needed to shed some money, and Fitzgerald wisely moved off of Ty Smith in exchange once his development stalled. Marino would later also be a cap dump at the 2024 NHL Draft, where the Devils pivoted to Brett Pesce in free agency to fill the void from Marino's departure. Brendan Dillon was also inked through free agency to give the Devils some size. Stefan Noesen is another addition to the "gritty" style lineup Fitzgerald wanted.

Fitzgerald did a full 180-degree turn on what he wanted his roster to be despite the team's success in 2022-23. 2022-23 was the franchise's greatest regular season in its history. 52 wins, 112 points, and winning a round in the playoffs. This season also saw Fitzgerald's biggest trade of his career, bringing in Timo Meier from the San Jose Sharks. It appeared like the Devils were becoming a perennial Stanley Cup contender.

Fitzgerald followed up that season by going out and getting Tyler Toffoli in exchange for Yegor Sharangovich in hopes of adding a huge piece to the top-six. He then re-signed Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier long-term. Fitzgerald was on a different hockey talk show each week ,receiving his flowers, something he tends to do when things are going well ,before disappearing when things are rough.

2023-24 would prove to be a very telling year for the Devils and the year that changed the team and Fitzgerald's direction. The Devils regressed to miss the playoffs. Goaltending was a disaster. Hughes missed plenty of time. Toffoli was traded for scraps in a buyer's market. A move that should haunt Fitzgerald to this day. Lindy Ruff was fired, and Fitzgerald was safe. The Devils went away from speed and emphasized grit and toughness. This brought on one of the most ridiculous trades of his tenure, the acquisition of Kurtis Macdermid and the decision to extend him.

Sheldon Keefe was brought in to replace Lindy Ruff and get the Devils back on track for 2024-25. A hot start faded quickly amidst yet another Jack Hughes season-ending injury, the Devils squeaked into the playoffs in a year where points were down across the board. They then got crushed by Carolina in five games. The Devils had zero depth scoring. Remember the famous quote by Fitzgerlad, "I bang my head against the wall, what is depth scoring?"

It seems he has not figured that out yet because this current team faces the same challenges. Another Jack Hughes injury, and it's another disaster for the Devils. Fitzgerald brought in a guy in Juho Lamikko, who had not played in the NHL in four years; he is now the third-line center. The only NHL-caliber centers on this team currently are Nico Hischier and Cody Glass. Palat, Cotter, Noesen, Lamikko, and Glendenning all combine for just five goals on the year.

The Cap Situation

Perhaps the toughest pill to swallow for this organization right now is that they are reeling down the standings despite currently being over the salary cap by $4 million. Jonathan Kovacevic's $4 million salary does not even count against them at the moment, so no matter what, the Devils have to make a move.

Another issue is that Tom Fitzgerald handed out no-movement clauses like he was Oprah. Palat, who is the biggest culprit of being a dead weight on this club, can only be moved to one of ten teams of his choice. Dougie Hamilton carries the same kind of trade protection. Stefan Noesen as well. Those three right there add up to $20 million of the Devils' cap.

The fact is, Fitzgerald's hands are tied when thinking about improving this team with any form of trade. The only issue is that he himself was the one to tie them.

What to Make of the Rumors Surrounding the Team

Eliotte Friedman reported on Saturday night that the Devils had initial talks with the Vancouver Canucks regarding Quinn Hughes, the brother of Devils' Jack and Luke Hughes. It's no secret the link between these two, as Jim Rutherford bluntly told the media last year that Quinn has expressed the desire to play with his brothers. Nothing was imminent between the two sides, but it's evident it's out in the open now.

Friedman also went on to say that New Jersey is the busiest team out there, currently making phone calls to teams. Even name-dropping, Steven Stamkos and Ryan O'Reilly from the Nashville Predators as two trade targets the Devils have set their sights on.

What I take away from this is that Fitzgerald is absolutely feeling the pressure. Whether from fans or ownership, there's a reason this information is being leaked to the media. Fitzgerald wants the fanbase back on his side, but with loss after loss, the fingers will remain pointed at him. Is there a chance Fitzgerald wants this information out there to show that he's simply just trying to help this team? Sure, possibly. The Devils, no matter what, will have to do cap gymnastics in order to make any noteworthy addition to this team.

Final Verdict

If April rolls around and the Devils fail to qualify for the playoffs. Tom Fitzgerald will be out of a job. Time is ticking, Tom.