On July 9, 2020, Tom Fitzgerald was named the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the New Jersey Devils. His time with the Devils has not gone well. Since July 9, 2020, New Jersey has a record of 209-199-38, two of the five seasons being above .500, the majority of those wins coming from the 2022-23 season when the Devils won 52 games. When it comes to the playoffs, the Devils have a 6-11 record in two playoff seasons, 8 of the 11 losses coming against division rival Carolina Hurricanes.
Since being appointed to such a big role in New Jersey, Fitzgerald has made a lot of trades that are viewed as head-scratchers when looking back at them today. In 2022, Timo Meier was a big name on the trade market back, a player who played well on an awful team but has yet to even record 80 points in a season. It was obvious the Devils needed a player who could win them games with goal-scoring abilities, but looking back now, that deal has not done New Jersey any good, especially given the 8-year contract Meier got.
Another trade that did not go so well for Tom Fitzgerald was trading away Pavel Zacha to the Boston Bruins for Erik Haula, who was then traded to the Nashville Predators for essentially nothing. Zacha has turned into a consistent top-six player in Boston, a skater that the Devils could definitely use today.
With Tom Fitzgerald at the helm, it is very hard to trust him with handling Simon Nemec's current situation. The Russian defenseman is set to be a restricted free agent this upcoming offseason, and it was reported today from Pierre LeBrun that Nemec and his camp may start with the Luke Hughes comp for a new contract. Luke Hughes signed a 7-year, $63 million contract extension back in October. If the Devils hope to eventually have Quinn Hughes play with his brothers in New Jersey, barring an extension with the Wild, New Jersey simply can't pay another defenseman top dollar.
Given the fact that the Devils did not make another move before the trade deadline, it makes you think whether Tom Fitzgerald was trusted to get a return for Simon Nemec. It was rumored that New Jersey was looking at a top-6 young forward who would impact the team. Who knows what the Devils would have gotten in return if Fitzgerald made the deal? If things get any worse than they have been , which is nearly impossible, there is a strong chance that New Jersey will part ways with Tom Fitzgerald in this upcoming offseason. It would then be up to his successor to handle the Simon Nemec situation and many other situations around this underperforming hockey team.