Tom Fitzgerald’s situation in New Jersey has been a bit of an odd one. While he was elevated to the full-time GM role for this season, the removal of the interim tag back in July didn’t come with a contract extension which meant that he was entering the final year of his contract. It appears that ownership is pleased with how things are going as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the two sides are now working on a contract extension.
It hasn’t been a great season on the ice for the Devils this season as they entered tonight’s game against Philadelphia with a 14-27-7 record and will miss the playoffs for the eighth time in the last nine years. However, it has also been a tough year on the injury front while the team was hit hard by COVID-19 which derailed some early-season momentum they had. Their younger players including Jack Hughes, Ty Smith, Pavel Zacha, and Mackenzie Blackwood have taken some steps forward this season which is encouraging for the future.
So too is Fitzgerald’s limited trade history. After securing a first-round pick and Nolan Foote for Blake Coleman last season while in the interim role, he was able to land a first-round selection back at the trade deadline for Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac, giving them some extra chips to build with. He also used his cap space for some low-cost adds last fall with the additions of Ryan Murray and Andreas Johnsson to build up their depth.
The true test for Fitzgerald – assuming a new deal does get worked out – will be selling New Jersey as a destination for impact free agents which has been a challenge in recent years. They’ll have ample cap room to work with (more than $37MM per CapFriendly) which is notable at a time when many teams will still be tight to the Upper Limit but he will need to be able to add a significant piece or two to truly start to elevate the Devils from their rebuild.