There is some anger amongst the New Jersey Devils fanbase right now. After losing to the worst team in the NHL on Sunday, a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks, Devils fans were once again on the cusp of calling it on the season despite it only being December.
Of course, a big reason why the Devils are in this position is because of injuries. Jack Hughes has missed 16 games and will likely reach 30 by the time he returns. Brett Pesce has been out for 24 of the Devils’ 33 games this season. Johnny Kovacevic hasn’t played a game this year. Cody Glass, Evgenii Dadonov, and Zack MacEwen have all missed at least 10 games. Stefan Noesen, Dougie Hamilton, and Jacob Markstrom returned from injury, but they never looked the same.
And now, two young guns who helped keep them afloat during these hard times, Simon Nemec and Arseny Gritsyuk, are going to miss extended time with their own injuries.
These injuries have forced the Devils to do their best to tread water, but the roster just isn’t good enough to compete on a nightly basis. Basically, teams can gameplan to shut down Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt (who are without Timo Meier due to a personal situation) and take their chances with what’s left.
This has brought frustration for fans, as they are watching a subpar product. They want to see wins, but this cannot happen with the lineup combinations available to Sheldon Keefe right now. Obviously, injuries happen to everyone, but they happen to the Devils at an extreme rate every year.
Who is to blame for all this? The most obvious finger is pointed at GM Tom Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald put this roster together, and he’s made his share of mistakes. And now he cannot get out of those mistakes because they have no-move and no-trade clauses tied to their deals. The Devils watched as Quinn Hughes was traded to Minnesota. The two biggest pieces the Wild sent to Vancouver were on draft boards for the Devils. Fitzgerald took Alex Holtz over Marco Rossi and Anton Silayev over Zeev Buium.
Now, instead of having Quinn Hughes on the roster, the Devils are desperately trying to make due with what they have, and it’s leading to a 6-10-0 record with Jack Hughes recovering.
Most believe that Fitzgerald has to be on the hot seat. This is yet another year where the Devils are pretty flaccid while Jack Hughes is signed to one of the best contracts in the sport. Yes, his injury has something to do with their rough stretch, but a lack of secondary scoring is as much to blame. That’s on Fitzgerald. He spent all of the 2024 offseason making the Devils tougher to play against, but he honestly just made them easier to hold off the scoresheet.
He tried to make up for that this offseason by bringing in Dadonov and Connor Brown, but this has had a muted impact on the bottom six. Zack MacEwen looked like a perfect fit, but he literally can’t stay healthy. Xavier Parent and Angus Crookshank look like decent energy guys, but they will have trouble scoring with Luke Glendening at center.
Despite all the flaws, a new report says that Tom Fitzgerald is steady in his seat when it comes to ownership. On the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said that Fitz’s job is safe… for now.
"I understand there was a bit of noise around Fitzgerald today. I don't believe he's in any trouble now. I just, I don't believe that."Elliotte Friedman, 32 Thoughts podcast
Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas discussed the Devils as a whole, talking about how bad things have been as of late. Jacob Markstrom, who Fitzgerald signed to a two-year extension, needs to be better, as they said.
Still, there's a mess here for the Devils, and Quinn Hughes isn't coming to fix it. Tom Fitzgerald has to take some, if not all, of the blame. Despite that, he will get a chance to turn this ship around this season, and with the Metopolitan Division still keeping things spicy, he has a legit chance to do it.