The New Jersey Devils continue to watch their season crumble as they fell 2-1 to the NHL's worst team, the Vancouver Canucks. That loss should be embarrassing enough on its own. When you look more into the context of the loss and recent events, it adds more insult to injury.
The Canucks just traded Quinn Hughes. They were without Elias Pettersson. They are the last-place team in the entire league coming into the game against New Jersey, all while being on the road. No problem for them, it seems.
For the Devils? It is nothing but problems. Problems that have plagued the team since their 2022-23 playoff run. Problems that Tom Fitzgerald has sat on and failed to address for almost three years. Problems fans have been begging to be fixed have fallen on deaf ears.
In the middle of November, the Devils were atop the Metropolitan Division. We all know what happens next. Jack Hughes gets hurt. Brett Pesce goes down with an injury. More and more players go down as the days go by. However, that is not an excuse anymore.
With the injury history this team has had over the last few seasons, Tom Fitzgerald has had ample opportunity to address the depth issues that he also caused. The Devils cannot win with their best players. Their depth players cannot chip in when called upon. There is the occasional win, like the one against the Ducks, that makes you think "maybe this is the corner". But it is followed up with a one-goal loss against a team like the Canucks.
"Injuries are hindering their chances to win" is a common excuse to the Devils' struggles. Let the record show the Devils have played teams without David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Victor Hedman, Quinn Hughes, and Elias Pettersson, all to be embarrassed in each of those games. Winning without your best players can be done. The Devils just don't do it.
But the game against the Canucks was a back-to-back! And? Are the Devils the only team that plays back-to-back games in the NHL? No. Other teams have success in back-to-back games and win one, if not both. The Devils just don't do it.
Tom Fitzgerald has done nothing but fail his team as they continue to slip in the standings. In a year where they cannot afford to keep falling back, they have done nothing but lose. They are 3-7 in their last ten games, have lost six out of their last seven on home ice after starting 9-0-1 at the Rock, and there are no signs of help coming.
It is known that the Devils could have had Quinn Hughes if players on the current roster had waived their no-move clauses or trade clauses. But that did not happen, which is well within their right not to waive. However, with the incoming cap crunch when Jonathan Kovacevic comes back, something will have to be done.
With the way the year has unfolded so far, Fitzgerald has not earned the trust that he can come out of the incoming cap crunch on the positive end. The lack of creativity from Fitzgerald should be alarming. Four years into their competitive window, the Devils are right back to where they were the last two years without the needed depth: sinking, and sinking fast.