New Jersey Devils: 5 Reasons to Stand Pat at NHL Trade Deadline

3. Who’s making decisions on the team’s future right now?

Perhaps the most frightening thing for Devils fans right now is that it is difficult to gauge what direction the franchise wants to go. With Shero, there was at least an idea of what Devils fans could expect for the forward trajectory of the team. Now, with an interim GM at the helm, there’s no telling. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and Fitzgerald has been Shero’s understudy for years now, so perhaps they have/had the same image for this team?

At the same time, the Devils’ ownership group seemed to have wasted little time in dismissing Shero once their visions for the franchise went in opposite directions. So, is the ownership so adamant on making decisions that Fitzgerald is simply acting as a puppet until the organization’s search for a permanent GM is completed? Regardless of who you think is making decisions, the Devils are without a doubt going down a slippery slope not knowing who their GM is going to be beyond the trade deadline.

Fitzgerald has been in the business for a while and it’s not like other GMs will answer, “Who?” when he calls. He’s been considered for some other GM vacancies around the league in recent years, so he clearly knows what he’s doing. It just isn’t a good look if the Devils make a ton of moves at the deadline under Fitzgerald and they end up hiring a different GM in the offseason. As a fan, it would be comforting knowing that the future GM of this team is the one who is making decisions on the current roster, and not somebody with the interim tag.