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

What to know on the Devils moving on from Tom Fitzgerald, player reactions originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . 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.