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New Jersey Devils GM Fuels Rumors of Major Shakeup With Cryptic Message

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Michael Gallagher | Last updated May 8, 2025 5:43 PM ET

After upgrading their goaltending with an offseason trade for former Calgary Flames net-minder Jakob Markstrom plus the free-agent additions of defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon and forwards Stefan Noesen and Tomas Tatar, many expected the New Jersey Devils to be a Stanley Cup contender in 2024.

And while the team did see a four-win and 10-point improvement and finish as the No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan Division standings, they were heavily outmatched by the Carolina Hurricanes in their first-round playoff series (especially without top offensive star Jack Hughes) and were ousted in five games.

New Jersey’s disappointing showing in the playoffs, coupled with injuries to top stars and substandard offensive production from players like Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, and Erik Haula, would seem to signal that some big changes could be coming.

That sentiment was further reinforced after general manager Tom Fitzgerald spoke to the media on Thursday.

“We've got a lot of decisions to make on certain players whether we bring guys back, trade players (but) we won't be coming back with the same group (in 2025-26),” Fitzgerald told reporters. “I can tell you that because it wasn't good enough.”

The Devils have several unrestricted free agents — Jake Allen, Nathan Bastian, Dennis Cholowski, Justin Dowling, Brian Dumoulin, Curtis Lazar, Daniel Sprong, and Tatar — who now seemingly face an uncertain future.

While there are some quality UFAs available this summer — Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett, Nikolaj Ehlers, Brock Boeser — there are also some intriguing restricted free agents including Connor Zary, Mason McTavish, Marco Rossi, and Jack Quinn who could be prime offer sheet candidates.

While most GMs tend to shy away from offer sheets, Fitzgerald at least seemed open to the idea.

“(Restricted) free agency is a tool to improve your team, but you need the cap space and strategically target players knowing full well there's no way a team can match because they don't have the cap space,” he said.

“I think the most important part of the offer sheet is the player has to want to move. He's got to want to come to your team, so there's that period where you can talk to restricted free agents, but they probably have to initiate themselves.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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