The anatomy of a nickname: Should we care that Quinn Hughes called Tom Fitzgerald "Fitzy"?

“Fitzy.”

That one word is all it took to cause social media to ignite. It’s the name we’ve heard former teammates, current GMs, Devils broadcaster Ken Daneyko, and even some New Jersey Devils players use for Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald. It’s the typical hockey nickname where they shorten the last name and end it in -y. 

Quinn Hughes rumors have dominated the NHL for weeks now, as the Vancouver Canucks became open for business. President Jim Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin are shopping basically all their players. Despite reports that they weren’t trading Quinn Hughes right now, the Canucks captain is apparently at least in conversations last week. 

Quinn Hughes was asked about those rumors after the Canucks’ win against the Minnesota Wild. The win still has the Canucks’ record at 11-15-3, far out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference. He gave an interesting answer, talking about his understanding of the situation. 

Just look at the different ways he addresses the two front office leaders involved in the deal. He refers to Rutherford, his current President of Hockey Operations, as "Jim." He refers to Fitzgerald as "Fitzy." Is there something there besides just the way he probably talks about him with his brothers? We've heard Jack himself call Fitzgerald by his nickname. Heck, the Devils social media accounts have used that language.

Should we look too much into what Quinn Hughes said? Probably not. He's trying not to speak out of turn. He knows anything he says about the matter will be considered news, and it might even be investigated for tampering if he says the wrong thing. Hughes is trying to keep this as straight forward as possible.

Quinn Hughes mentioning "Fitzy" might be more important than we think

Jack Hughes talked about playing with all three Hughes brothers this past offseason. He made it clear he wants to play with Quinn one day.

And it's clear the Devils need Quinn Hughes. The defense has offensive pieces that aren't driving offense. Outside of Simon Nemec, the offensive defensemen have been making more mistakes than plays. Luke Hughes clearly missed having a training camp. He's making way too many mistakes every game. Dougie Hamilton looks like a shell of himself after an offseason full of rumors.

Hughes not only brings an upgrade on defense and gives the team a legitimate number one, but he also solves their issues on offense. Hughes has 20 assists this season, and a lot of his impact has come on the power play. The Devils have had trouble fighting out who the best defenseman is on their power play, with Simon Nemec, Luke Hughes, and Dougie Hamilton taking the role at different points in the season on PP1. Quinn Hughes would be there for the foreseeable future. 

Obviously, the move comes down to compensation. Specifically, what would the Devils give Vancouver to make this deal happen? We have a few ideas… but if Hughes is set on playing with his brothers, the return is going to be interesting and could force this to stretch into 2026.