The New Jersey Devils fired Tom Fitzgerald on Monday night, ending a five-year run in which he rebuilt the franchise, only to watch another season slip away. The move came with the team sitting at 40-34-3 and needing a miracle to qualify for the playoffs.
David Blitzer said he and Fitzgerald had a thoughtful conversation and agreed it was time to move in a new direction. He said Fitzgerald changed the trajectory of the team and helped make New Jersey a hockey destination, while also acknowledging fans were frustrated after the Devils fell short again.
Fitzgerald had been the Devils’ general manager since 2020 and president of hockey operations since 2024. He was hired as assistant general manager in July 2015 and promoted to GM in January 2020, taking over after the club had missed the playoffs for four straight seasons. Under him, New Jersey climbed back into relevance, finishing with 112 points in 2022-23, when Jack Hughes landed in the top 10 in Hart Trophy voting and the team reached the second round before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
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That progress did not hold. The Devils missed the playoffs in 2023-24, then lost to Carolina again in the first round last spring. Fitzgerald’s final season was defined in part by the failed effort to land Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks, a chase that fell apart and ended with Hughes going to the Minnesota Wild instead. The bold 2023 acquisition of Timo Meier did not push the team over the top.
Fitzgerald had one year left on his contract, according to league sources, but the front office move reflects a broader reset. New Jersey is now one of three NHL teams looking for someone to lead hockey operations, alongside the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Nashville Predators. Fitzgerald is considered a candidate for the opening in Nashville, leaving the Devils to decide how to build on a core around Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier that has not yet produced a deeper playoff run.
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Blitzer said this is a critical offseason and that the club will explore all avenues to position the Devils to compete for a Stanley Cup again. For Fitzgerald, the exit closes a decade in New Jersey and the end of a tenure that lifted expectations, even if it never fully delivered on them.
