It's been two weeks since the New Jersey Devils fanbase fell into a tizzy. Quinn Hughes was traded, and the Devils did not get the eldest brother to connect the trio in the Garden State. Since being traded, Hughes has been dominant for the Minnesota Wild, who gave up a bounty to get him. They are trying to make noise in the insane Central Division, and this was about as loud as one can get.
Meanwhile, the Devils excuses are shrinking despite the losses piling up. Every major injured player, including Jack Hughes and Brett Pesce, has returned. The stars are out in New Jersey, including Tate McRae, Paul Skenes, and Livvy Dunne at their game against the Buffalo Sabres. Against the New York Islanders, the Devils brought their biggest stars, but the only person who scored was Pesce, a defensive defenseman.
There is a huge issue in New Jersey. The process seems to be alright, but the results aren't coming. There are large stretches in the game where the team goes into the tank, and that's usually when they are losing games. The team is having insane issues with scoring, with one or fewer goals in seven of the past 11 games.
For most of this stretch, the excuse was a level of injuries that was unsustainable. They just needed to stay afloat until Jack Hughes and Brett Pesce came back. And they did that!
When Hughes returned to the lineup on Sunday, the Devils were in a playoff spot both by points and points percentage. Today, they are below the Sabres in points percentage.
The real issue for Tom Fitzgerald is that he always had the thought that a returning Hughes would fix everything. Well, it hasn't. Instead, it just confirmed there are deeper issues with this team. Of course, there should be some time to get these guys back into the lineup and see if the chemistry leads to scoring. However, with everything wrong that's happened since November 1st, patience is wearing thin.
Things hit a fever pitch with the fanbase when Quinn Hughes was traded, and more and more reports said the Devils had an inside route before the Minnesota Wild got involved. Rumors aren't always true, but even the most modest report sounds like Fitzgerald had all the balls in his court, and he either decided against the price or couldn't move the money (i.e., Dougie Hamilton and/or Ondrej Palat contracts) to get the deal done.
The Devils could really use a player like Hughes right now, especially if they could do it by only losing, say, Hamilton, Simon Nemec, and Dawson Mercer from the NHL roster.
Instead, the Devils are trying to pivot. Here's the problem with that: all the teams that were there to pivot to are now better. The Nashville Predators have the same points percentage as the Utah Mammoth, who currently hold the last Wild Card spot. The St. Louis Blues are suddenly five points back. Even those same Vancouver Canucks have gone on a winning streak after trading Quinn Hughes and find themselves in shooting distance of a playoff run.
Even if those teams still feel like becoming sellers at the trade deadline is most likely, they have no reason to rush a move now.
Meanwhile, the Devils need a piece right now. The locker room needs a shakeup and the team needs motivation. They need something to get them moving in the right direction, and the Quinn Hughes trade would have brought them in the right direction. Instead, Fitzgerald held onto his card, and now the Wild are running towards a competitive playoff series while the Devils are fighting for their playoff lives.
As a rule, we don't fire people. However, we have to look at the writing on the wall. Elliotte Friedman said on a recent 32 Thoughts that Tom Fitzgerald's job was safe. Remember how the front office felt about Ray Shero in December 2019? They allowed him to make the Taylor Hall trade, and the future was bright in New Jersey. Then, he was fired a month later. A lot can change in a month.
If a lot doesn't change for the Devils in a month, then there could be a change at the top. Everything will point back to the failed Quinn Hughes trade attempt if that does happen.