Devils GM drops ‘accountability’ truth bomb amid struggles

New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald gave his first press conference in several months amidst what has been a downer of a campaign for his club, who find themselves in the sixth overall spot in the Atlantic Division standings and have gone 3-6-1 in their last 10 total outings.

The Devils, who picked up a badly needed victory over the Minnesota Wild on Monday, were expected to be at or near the top of the standings by this point in the season when it began back in October, but maddening inconsistency has seen them dwindle further down in overall point total. If the Stanley Cup Playoffs were to begin today, they wouldn’t qualify.

Fitzgerald began his press conference on Wednesday by accepting responsibility for their woeful season, which has also been plagued by several injuries to Devils players.

“This is where we’re at right now. It’s on me. And I’m one to take accountability on myself,” Fitzgerald said via NJ.com. “This isn’t good enough. It is absolutely not good enough. We’re not meeting the standard and expectations we’ve set.”

Fitzgerald then referenced Devils fans and said he knows that their expectation is championships, despite the fact that the Devils haven’t raised the Stanley Cup since 2003.

“I feel for the fans, I really do,” Fitzgerald said. “They’re used to Stanley Cup Championship teams with players like (Ken Daneyko) Dano, and anything less is unacceptable.”

The Devils will next play the Seattle Kraken on home ice at Prudential Center on Wednesday evening.

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald was directly challenged on his job security