What to know on the Devils moving on from Tom Fitzgerald, player reactions

On April 6, the New Jersey Devils announced they had parted ways with General Manager Tom Fitzgerald. 

Fitzgerald was previously named interim General Manager of the Devils on Jan. 12, 2020 following the termination of Ray Shero. He was promoted to the full-time role of Executive Vice President/General Manager on July 9, 2020. New Jersey had missed the playoffs for four straight seasons until the 2022-23 campaign, and the Devils are now eliminated from playoff contention for the ongoing season (currently sitting with 83 points in the Metropolitan Division). For the Devils, Fitzgerald did land the trade to acquire forward Timo Meier from the San Jose Sharks and oversaw the talents of Jack Hughes who recently was the overtime hero for USA Hockey in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

However, Fitzgerald now being out of New Jersey comes following him and the Devils choosing not to make any moves whatsoever at the 2026 Trade Deadline. In addition, there have been many reports that star defenseman Quinn Hughes — the eldest brother of Jack and Luke Hughes, both of which are on the New Jersey roster — could have landed with the Devils during his trade away from Vancouver, but instead ended up with the Minnesota Wild.

"My focus was purely on the future of this organization moving forward and trying to add to the current a group, a player or two that could grow with this group,” Fitzgerald said at the time of the most recent Trade Deadline. “That was my focus, but nothing materialized.”

For Vancouver, various NHL insiders said the offer from Fitzgerald for Quinn did not generate enough traction and they opted to trade with the previously mentioned deal from the Wild instead.

The trade surrounding the Norris Trophy winner occurred on Dec. 13, 2025. At the time of that trade, the Devils had 14 players under contract with a no-trade clause, a no-movement clause, or both (Meier, Jesper Bratt, captain Nico Hischier, Ondrej Palat, Connor Brown, Stefan Noesen, Evgenii Dadonov, Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, Brendon Dillon, Johnathan Kovacevic, Jonas Siegenthaler, and both goaltenders of Jake Allen and Jacob Markstrom). 

Though — the fumbling of Quinn and the Trade Deadline still vastly angered the Devils' fanbase, with many calling for the termination of Fitzgerald as a result.

Whomever the Devils hire to replace Fitzgerald will oversee a roster that is projected to have $12.18 million in projected in salary cap space, according to PuckPedia and ESPN.

Devils players react to news of Fitzgerald departure, what this means for the future of New Jersey

Devils' beat reporter James Nichols has also reported that head coach Sheldon Keefe has confirmed he will be under evaluation at the season’s end following the news surrounding Fitzgerald.

#BREAKING: New Jersey Devils Managing Partner David Blitzer announced today that Tom Fitzgerald will depart the organization.

New Jersey was 218-204-39 since Fitzgerald was named full-time GM, however the Devils went on a 15-25-1 slide from Nov. 18- Feb. 26.

The morning after the news broke, various Devils players met with the media to discuss their reaction to the news.

Jack said himself and the players share in the blame of Fitzgerald leaving the organization. 

"Most of it comes down to the players, right? We're the ones going on the ice, we're the ones competing every night and we're the ones that are … can change the outcome of a hockey game," Jack said. "Just frustrating because I'm a big part of this team and (have) got a lot of love for Tommy Fitz, so sad to see him go and I wish we could have done better for him."

Jack, Bratt and Meier were part of the established core by Fitzgerald.

Bratt said that while Fitzgerald is gone, his impact will still remain.

"He had a trust in me to be one of those leader guys to be part of this team for a long time, and obviously [I’m] very thankful that I've been a part of that plan the whole time, and we've been able to have a good relationship with a working together," Bratt said. "Super thankful for all the years and for the trust that he put up in me and the whole core to be the leaders in this group ... Obviously, he has built this team, and that's going to show for years forward — even if he's not the GM."

New Jersey also has 12 players under contract who have more than two years remaining on their current deals. Hischier, the aforementioned captain of the Devils, is eligible to sign an extension on July 1; he becomes an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in 2027.

Hischier said as far as he's concerned, right now he is playing for New Jersey and will then see where his future heads.

“We weren’t performing the way we should have. In business, things like that happen. Yeah, I am a bit disappointed but understand the business side of it. Still, I am very, very thankful for him and what he’s done for me.” Hischier said per beat reporter Ryan Novozinsky. "I'm focusing on playing hockey here and I still have one more year. So, I'm with the Devils right now and then we'll see what happens."

Rumblings have since surfaced the Fitzgerald is now involved in the Nashville Predators' search for a new GM. Fitzgerald was the first captain in Predators history from 1998-1999 and 2001-02; he previously played four years in Nashville.

Sunny Mehta, Mike Gillis and Doug Armstrong have all been named as potential replacements for the Devils on the GM front. Mother of the Hughes brothers — Ellen Hughes — is a former ice hockey player with the University of New Hampshire and won a world championship silver medal in 1992, She has also since joined the U.S. Women's National Team staff as a player development consultant and helped them to also win the gold medal in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

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