This morning (Jan. 23), New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald received a multi-year contract extension. In addition, he was promoted to become the team’s President of Hockey Operations while still retaining his GM title.
Despite some struggles and injury woes, this signifies the organization’s strong belief in Fitzgerald to evaluate the roster as necessary and continue to build a championship-caliber team.
At 5:45 PM ET, co-managing partner David Blitzer addressed the media along with Fitzgerald.
Here Are Some of the Key Quotes:
Blitzer: “Tom has taken his time. This was built to last. It’s the system, the people, the culture…Watching Tom grow, himself and the organization. One important trait of a great leader is someone hiring great people around him.”
Blitzer: “We all know how incredibly talented this team is. No, I’m not happy with where we are in the standings. But it’s a long season. I have a lot of confidence we’ll see a strong end to the season.”
Fitzgerald: “It’s hard to evaluate with the number of bodies that we’re missing. That’s not an excuse. To me, it’s all about how we play and create success by playing differently without the talent.”
Fitzgerald: “I can’t force teams to trade people to me, but my phone is constantly working and calling teams. This is what we do this time of year to gauge each other’s thoughts and interest, and (see) if there’s a match somewhere.”
Fitzgerald: “(Jack Hughes) will be attending the All-Star Game. Will he be on the ice? That’s unknown. He’s excited to be part of the festivities…he’s in a good place mentally. He feels good physically. And that’s the most important thing. Time frame-wise? I don’t have a time frame.”
Fitzgerald: “Dougie (Hamilton) is definitely clearer than Jack. We know he’s long term…in two or three weeks, middle of February, we should have a better feel on where he’s at and what his timeline really looks like.”
Fitzgerald: “Lindy (Ruff)’s attitude never changes. It’s calm, it’s matter of fact. It’s coaching. It’s taking players in between periods, showing them a video of ‘Hey, this is where we got to get better’…He’s passionate about coaching. He’s passionate about teaching and he’s passionate about helping players get better.”
Fitzgerald: “Not going to say I’m cool with (the goaltending situation). I want them to always play better no doubt. But I also want our players to play better in front of them. We still have some areas of the game that need to be cleaned up…There’s a lot more connectivity that needs to happen for us to get where we want to go. And it’s really a daily process.”
Fitzgerald: “I’m looking to improve the team. As we continue to evaluate, if an opportunity arises that helps us improve our team? Absolutely, I’m going to try to do that.”
Fitzgerald: “Salary cap is real, you know, you’ve gotta play within certain boundaries…we put (Tomas) Nosek on LTIR because we needed his money for a call-up. We didn’t plan that. But there was an audible called and we had to make the best of it.”
Fitzgerald: “You see Nemec, I mean maybe he shouldn’t be playing 22 minutes. But he is, and he looks good. And we’re very fortunate to have a player like that. With injuries comes opportunity…it’s a chance for people in the organization to show that they could play in the league.”
Blitzer: “One of the most difficult things is predicting timelines on injuries. It’s not like we know stuff, and we’re not telling you…it’s really complicated…I think we got a little lucky last year and a little unlucky this year on that front.”
Fitzgerald: “(Dawson) Mercer is a young player that we would obviously love to continue to work with for the next bunch of years. I haven’t yet had a conversation with his agent.”
Fitzgerald: “With Tyler (Toffoli) I’ve had multiple conversations with his agent. I think we’re probably going to sit down sometime in the break or after the break. Just to see where he’s at…I like Tyler Toffoli. I think he’s been a really good add for our team because of his professionalism and his winning pedigree. But it is a business.”
Blitzer: “(The addition of the Washington Commanders) definitely has no change in the structure (of the Devils). Just another fun team to root for. Nothing’s changed at all across any of our investments.”
Crunch Time
Obviously, the season hasn’t gone as planned thus far. But this reiterates that the Devils have belief that it will resolve itself, and that they give a lot of credit to Fitzgerald for overhauling the team and building a young and promising core.
As evident in the Devils’ recent comeback win versus the Vegas Golden Knights, they need to find ways to win, no matter how ugly, especially with all of the injuries. It’s something they did well last season but have struggled to do as often this go-around. Time will tell if the Vegas game helped to change that mojo.
It’s definitely an overall positive step to see this level of transparency within the organization. Knowing that they aren’t satisfied with their goaltending situation is important as well, as Fitzgerald made it very clear that he’s willing to build the roster where applicable…without sacrificing future contention years or the overall success plan.
These next few weeks are going to be key for the Devils to get back on track. They currently sit two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card position and have a contest against them coming up on Saturday night.