New Jersey Devils President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald did a great job assembling a team that can be a winner for a long time in New Jersey. He deserved all the kudos for what he did in the offseason. In addition, what he did leading into last year and adding the pieces necessary to get the second round of the playoffs.
However, with how the Devils are performing or should say underperforming this season, Tom Fitzgerald deserves some of the criticism head coach Lindy Ruff is getting. There were expectations for the Devils to make it back to the playoffs with the group they put together on the ice.
The Devils would be different defensively with the loss of Ryan Graves and Damon Severson. Not to mention the loss of Miles Wood up front. But the Devils were too talented enough to overcome those losses. However, the one loss they could not overcome has been between the pipes.
The Devils were going down the route of not bringing Graves, Severson, and Wood back. That was a forgone conclusion—the loss of Dougie Hamilton for the season through a monkey wrench into everything. However, entering the season, the one thing the Devils needed to take the next step was a number goalie.
New Jersey could not have the same goalie duo they ended the season with to begin this season with. The Carolina Hurricanes exposed the Akira Schmid and Vitek Vanecek duo in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And you are seeing right now that a number one goalie is costing the Devils, and that is on Tom Fitzgerald for not making that happen.
As much as Fitzgerald wanted to add depth to the goaltending position and pair someone with Vanecek to allow Schmid and Nico Daws to develop, that did not happen. But both are playing in the NHL this season, which is not something that Fitzgerald wanted to see.
However, there were opportunities to make a deal in the summer. Even though prices for goaltending were high, they are even higher right now as teams know how desperate the Devils are to get a goaltender.
Speaking of the off-season, go back to this past summer when Tom Fitzgerald had a chance to get a number one goalie. He could not execute a trade for Connor Hellebuyck before he signed his extension in Winnipeg.
According to sources close to Full Press Hockey, the Winnipeg Jets asked for Dawson Mercer as part of a trade package.
“The Jets were asking about Dawson Mercer, and the at was an absolute non-starter for the Devils,” according to a source close to Full Press Hockey.
As Full Press Hockey reported last week, Mercer’s name was part of the deal that Predators general manager presented to Tom Fitzgerald for Juuse Saros, another goalie the Devils could have gotten in the summer. So, it begs the question of what the Devils are willing to give up.
It sounds like as part of the trade for Jacob Markstrom that got pulled at the last minute; the Devils were willing to trade Alexander Holtz and a first-round pick to Calgary. The deal got squashed because the Devils wanted the Flames to agree on retention and the price of retention.
The Devils were looking for around 40-50 percent of Markstrom’s salary to be retained over the next three years. The Flames wanted to retain closer to 20 to 25 percent of Markstrom’s salary. So, the asking price for retention has a price as well.
On the October 11, 2023, edition of the Full Press Hockey Podcast, the topic of the Devils goaltending was brought up, and if the issue of goaltending cost the Devils a playoff spot, did that fall on Tom Fitzgerald?
If the Devils take a step back and we’re talking about this at the end of the season, IF the goaltending, IF it becomes an issue again, Tom Fitzgerald had an opporunity to acquire, we think, one of the top five or six goaltenders in the league, which would cement them as a Stanely Cup favorite. They didn’t do it and now IF they are not successful with what they do, the price to acquire somebody like that has not only gone up, but the talent available has gone down. Theoretically. So if this experiement doesn’t work, does this come back the Devils GM for not making the move? – Bruce Zeman Vox Media NHL Analyst
The Devils are not at IF anymore. The experiment of Schmid and Vanecek has failed this season for the Devils. Daws has done all he can do to right the ship. The Devils needed a number-one goalie. They were unable to acquire that goalie. At least thus far.
While there is still time to do so, the clock is ticking to March 8th and the NHL Trade Deadline. If the Devils do not acquire a goalie, they must try to revisit something in the summer. There, Tom Fitzgerald must solve the problem of a number-one goalie, or else the Devils will have the same issues next season.
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