The New Jersey Devils extended GM Tom Fitzgerald's contract and added the president of hockey operations role to his duties. Adam Proteau says he's built a promising roster and could improve it further by the trade deadline.

When he took over the New Jersey Devils as interim GM in January 2020, Tom Fitzgerald was a relatively unknown property. 

Sure, he’d carved out an impressive blue-collar career as an NHL player, but as a hockey management member who began with the Devils as an assistant GM in 2015, Fitzgerald wasn’t exactly a household name.

Slowly but surely, that has changed in Fitzgerald’s tenure with New Jersey. He’s built a Devils team that many GMs would kill for. And on Tuesday, New Jersey ownership rewarded Fitzgerald by giving him a multi-year contract extension and a promotion to serve as GM and president of hockey operations. Although the Devils have struggled this season, Fitzgerald’s new working arrangement is a direct result of his success in building a winner.

Fitzgerald has presided over a stellar draft and development team – which has landed up-and-comers Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec and Alexander Holtz. That facet of the Devils’ growth certainly plays a major role in his success, but there's more to it than just that. It’s also his savviness as a trade-maker that’s given New Jersey an embarrassment of riches. 

Fitzgerald has acquired notable contributors on the trade front, including forwards Timo Meier, Tyler Toffoli and Erik Haula, and defensemen John Marino, Jonas Siegenthaler and Kevin Bahl. Fitzgerald has also used the free agency route to lure top talents, including blueliner Dougie Hamilton and forward Ondrej Palat. Playing in the highly competitive Metropolitan Division has raised the bar for the Devils, but under Fitzgerald’s watch, they’ve looked like they have one of the most promising rosters over the long term.

Certainly, New Jersey’s problems this season are an indication of the work Fitzgerald still has left to do. Injuries have been an issue for them, but goaltending is the Devils’ biggest concern. 

Fitzgerald has only $200,000 in salary cap space to improve his lineup, per PuckPedia. But he hasn’t come this far only to come this far, and Fitzgerald has all the motivation – and now, the job security – that he needs to complete the goal and get the Devils close to or beyond the Stanley Cup final.

If you’ve spoken with Fitzgerald over the years, you’ll know he’s a straightforward character who is driven to succeed. You don’t play nearly 1,100 regular-season NHL games as a non-star player unless you have a work ethic like few others. Fitzgerald must make a few more moves before his team is regarded as an odds-on favorite to win a Cup, but they’ve made consistent progress under his watch. If the Devils are going to win it all, it will be because he guided them with patience and resolve. 

Fitzgerald’s contract extension and new job title are well deserved, and New Jersey is going to be a team to reckon with for the foreseeable future because of the legwork he’s already completed.