New Jersey Devils President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald speaks with the media following the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline.
Fitz discusses the lack of moves across the league due to CBA changes , his belief in the Devils’ current core , and his strategy of holding onto futures instead of buying rentals. He also clears the air on Dougie Hamilton , provides an update on Brett Pesce , and reflects on Jack Hughes’ incredible golden goal at the Milan Olympics.
Timestamps:
00:00 – A quiet trade deadline & the impact of CBA changes
03:34 – Shutting down the Dougie Hamilton rumors
04:48 – Putting Clendenning, Dadonov, and Sipkov on waivers
06:03 – Believing in the core & not trading futures for rentals
07:49 – Simon Nemec’s future & potential offseason moves
10:03 – Fitzgerald on his future and alignment with ownership
12:47 – The long-term plan for Gritsyuk
13:24 – Getting back to the team’s fast, transition identity
16:08 – Brett Pesce injury update
16:46 – Pride in Jack Hughes’ Olympic performance
25 Comments
Fantastic job, Tom! Way to go!
Ownership needs to fire Fitzy ASAP
Disappointing is an understatement
Fitz needs to put the fries in the bag
I'm so glad I cancelled my season tickets
You make it hard to be a fan
What is the point of my whole family being season ticket holders? Holy shit.
Blah blah blah
So let the season burn! Thank you the future is bright lmao! đ˘
Winners find ways to make things happen.
A GM that's asleep at the wheel and a coach that can't win no matter how much talent he has. This group is hopeless.
Fire Fitzy
Fitz contradictory statements reflect his bumbling as a GM. Fitz should quit if they donât make playoffs which is very likely they wonât. Owners just donât care and it shows by them keeping this guy as GM.
Fire fitz
Anybody who listen to Fitz talk its clearly obvious he doesn't like Nemec and is very much looking to get rid of him
The Ditz Paradox: Team isn't where it should be but he wouldn't change anything and he didn't make any mistakes
Tom is a fantastic GM. Dont get why all the hate towards him. He deserves to lead this team! Future is bright and the window is just opening. Be patient y'all!
LMFAO….this was comical.
Soft ball questions and brown nosing, should have had this presser in a green house with all these plants!
Thank you Amanda and Novo for getting to the issues!
This is a joke, âhas this been a disappointing dayâ. Itâs been a disappointing three years! Iâm done with this team until ownership makes changes and for the sake of our sanity, firing Keefe will do nothing. We need big boys, have a surplus of d men and donât make any trades, losing our goalie prospects for a couple 37 year olds. Might need a new team in a few ywars
Glad nobody was moved. I don't think there is anything wrong with the team specifically. The system they are playing is the problem. Change the system to fit the players we have and they can win a lot of games.
I need to get my Rose colored glasses because the future is so bright with this window opening. What a joke
Novo asking the hard questions. Thank you for your service.
watching this interview, it seems that Nemec is a gone!!! When asked about him it's like we will see, when ask about Gritz he was like he definitely part of our team long term!!
I hate this bozo so much