Team USA finalized their management group on Friday for the impending NHL 4 Nations Faceoff and 2026 U.S.A Men’s Ice Hockey team. New Jersey Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald was named one of three assistant GMs.
Fitzgerald will aid Team USA’s GM Bill Guerin, who is also the general manager of the Minnesota Wild.
Joining Fitzgerald in an assistant role are New York Rangers GM Chris Drury and Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito.
According to the press release, “We’ve got a great management group and I’m excited to work with them in representing our country,” said Guerin, a three-time Olympian as a player and the current president of hockey operations and general manager of the Minnesota Wild. “It’s an exciting time in USA Hockey and we’re focused on bringing home championships from both events.”
As the AGM of Team USA for both upcoming world events, Fitzgerald certainly has some options close to home that he can choose from in Jack Hughes & Luke Hughes.
The Devils GM cited his excitement for the opportunity to build a team to compete in a best-on-best competition, while also emphasizing building a team, not just a roster with the most skill.
“It’s such an honor, such a privilege to throw on the jersey,” Fitzgerald explained. “It means the world to you. You’re one of a very low-percentage that can say they’ve put the jersey on to represent their country. Now on this side of it, it’s still a thrill.
“It’s going to be high-end for sure, with the 4 Nations and obviously the Olympics. You look around, especially in the U.S., and how we’ve grown high-end talent, it’s just going to be incredible. There’s going to be some sad people, there’s going to be some happy people, but I think the most important thing is once we sit down as a group is building a team, not just a team of talent, but a team. There’s enough talent, character, work ethic, hard-nosed players throughout the league that we’ll be able to choose from.”
Fitzgerald’s experience as a general manager wasn’t the only factor that landed the Devils GM an assistant role to Guerin. In fact, Fitzgerald has represented the USA thrice, at the 1987 World Junior Championship, the 1989 Men’s World Championship and the 1991 Men’s World Championship.
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