Tom Fitzgerald Has A Busy Offseason Ahead To Improve the Devils

The New Jersey Devils season has officially ended. Team President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald addressed the media on Thursday, giving his thoughts on how the season played. Fitzgerald did not hold back his frustration and disappointment in his team’s performance this year.

However, in their end-of-season meetings, Fitzgerald told his players a loud and clear message that hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard. He told his players that nothing is given to them in the NHL. Just because you were a good team one year does not mean that happens again.

It only happens when you play consistent hockey every night and the players are willing to work both on and off the ice.

“They got the message,” Tom Fitzgerald said Thursday. “We got curious mindsets in that room. They want to get better and sometimes you got to punch people right in the nose to realize, ‘Oh, this is reality.’ What we got this season, is what we deserved.”

That was a theme delivered by former head coach Lindy Ruff at the beginning of the season after the Devils lost games. If they played a certain way, they would struggle and get what they deserved. Even interim head coach Travis Green delivered a similar message after losses during the season’s final stretch.

Now, the real work begins for Fitzgerald, who is ready to get back to work after potentially letting his guard down this year.

“I’m actually so excited about this (the offseason) because I know exactly what this team needs,” he said. “I know exactly what these individuals need. I know what they want, what they crave. They crave that excellence.”

And he has a lot of work to do. Not only will the Devils get the head coach right, and Green will be in the running, but they will also look outside the organization and fix the roster holes. Goaltending will take priority once again.

Even though Fitzgerald did not say goaltending was the main priority after hiring the head coach, it is the priority. Jake Allen is the only goalie under contract for the 2024-25 season. Fitzgerald said he wanted to go “big-game” hunting during the trade deadline.

Take that for what you will, but you know the names the Devils want to go after. It’s Jacob Markstrom, Juuse Saros, and Linus Ullmark. Could a player like Filip Gustavsson be in the mix? But the Devils need a proven number-one goalie to pair with Markstrom, as Kaapo Kahkonen is a pending UFA.

Though Fitzgerald didn’t reveal a pecking order of positional needs, he did stress just one of the five goalies to play for the Devils this season is under contract for 2024-25, Jake Allen. Kaapo Kahkonen is a pending UFA.

“It’s an area where I’ll definitely continue to explore,” Fitzgerald said.

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The question will be what he will want to give up. The Devils will have a Top 10 pick in the NHL Draft this year. However, Fitzgerald is open to moving it for the right price and type of player he is looking for, which helps fill a need.

“I’m not looking to give it away. But also willing to use it,” Fitzgerald continued. “If it helps this team take the next level with with a strong player who can really fill a need of where we want to go. If that doesn’t happen, then you’re banking. You know a future  NHL player that you feel that can make an impact in your lineup.”

If the Devils are trading for a goalie, they will have to give up that pick to get the goalie they are looking for.

Speaking of the right type of player for the Devils. The Devils’ President and General Manager will look to bring in players known for their work ethic.

“I want hockey players who are passionate, who love the game, come in every single day, punch the clock and go to work and actually enjoy it,” Fitzgerald said. “Our fans deserve those type of players … the players who want to block shots, are comfortable in confrontation, understand that physicality is part of the game and create an identity.”

When you think of identity, you think of the BMW line of Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian, and Miles Wood. McLeod will never play again due to his legal issues, and Wood would not be brought back for the salary he received.

So, turn the clock back to the 2012 team, which included Ryan Carter, Steve Bernier, and Brian Gionta. That line propelled the Devils into the playoffs and helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final that year. Teams that make it to the playoffs have those types of lines.

“Maybe getting back to having a momentum line, a line or two that could actually change the momentum of a game. That’s what I’m looking for. I think our fans deserve that. I think our core skill guys deserve that. Those are some of the areas I think we need to improve and that’s up to me.”

Again, there were a lot of reactionary moves instead of pro-active. Tom Fitzgerald is feeling the pressure. The direction of this team this year was on him with the decisions he made not to bring back Damon Severson, Ryan Graves, and Miles Wood. Injuries hurt this team. But there was no excuse for how they performed on the ice nightly.

But Fitzgerald knows he has to make things right and get this team back to the playoffs by making the correct moves in the offseason. Otherwise, he might not have the job security we all think he has.