NJ Devils Tom Fitzgerald ALL EYES ON FITZ!
welcome back Devils fans it is your host Ace here on run with the Devils where we are talking New Jersey Devils hockey all year long please hit that subscribe button smash the like button share with a friend thank you very much and on to today’s order of business this video is entitled all eyes on Fitz because my friends as Devil’s fans all of our Collective eyes are firmly on General Manager Tom Fitzgerald what is Fitzy GNA do wow we have the NHL awards show tonight we are a little more than 24 hours away from the NHL draft the devil’s holding that coveted 10th overall will we draft will we not we’ll get into all of it right now a lot of rumors and speculations the last couple days and I feel like I had to come on here and kind of kind of talk about it with you all because I don’t know if I’m liking everything I’m hearing I don’t know if I am to recap the summer of Fitz thus far thus far Curtis mcder signed to three years absolutely love it the boys need him around the sheriff the enforcer mess with the Devils mcdermid’s coming for you great order of business checked off early on not a significant move by any means in terms of wins and losses but I do think for team morale and safety Curtis mcdermid absolutely great signing love the man a lot of people cried about that cry about it some more you need a guy like this in your lineup when it’s necessary and he’s going to protect everybody makes everybody feel safer so I love that move but then we get to the more significant moves on the season and that was naming Sheldon Keefe the head coach I think Sheldon was a great hire one of the higher names on most people’s lists and I think it was a great hire and I think he could do wonders for this group hopefully he proves his continued regular season success that he’s had with Toronto and he could find a way to win in the playoffs hopefully with these moves Fitz could make in the summer and in these next couple days really um you know he could finally become a more perennial playoff winner and we’re hoping he does that with the New Jersey Devils love the Sheldon ke H and then we move on to to the one that loomed over us for eternity and that was who are we going to get for a goalie is it going to be this guy or is it going to be Soros Omar markstrom free agency finally get markstrom it was rumored we were going to get him from last season the deal fell apart lots of nonsense back and the forth in the media this year finally markstrom is here thought Fitz did very well on the deal um I did not want lenus omark and for those of you that are still crying about omark see the video I made a couple days ago about olark versus markstrom the markstrom deal was the sensible one the Devils made perfect sense at the time and it was The Logical move so I commend Fitz for that one and not falling for the Omar bait because honestly that guy’s not worth 78 million a year I’m sorry he’s not that’s a huge Gamble and I’m glad we got markstrom hopefully he brings us deep in the playoffs let’s go Marky get it done but I love that move and then we had a couple insignificant ones um shortly after that we had you know Graham Clark going to Minnesota for Adam Beckman that’s really a you know more of a minor league kind of you know not it’s not moving the needle one way or the other so it’s just a little move we made there and then we signed Nick D Simone to a one-year deal I I like Nick D Simone and a few of the games he appeared in last season I thought he you know was a little more physical than most of the other guys blocking shots I think that’s a great depth move and I think he’s probably going to be a seventh or eighth defenseman on the depth chart you know great depth move not a lot of money insurance policy in case of injuries or someone struggles I like to see that now we are getting into these next couple days to me personally these next few days a week will Define the Tom Fitzgerald tenure and it it’s not been great I mean let’s be honest it hasn’t been great we had one great season in 2223 and then we followed up with the Calamity that was this past season that just wrapped up it can’t happen again I do believe Fitz is on the hot seat and I think he’s going to maneuver as if there’s no tomorrow which he should he should be on the hot seat firmly I think he’s a lot of missteps the hoping and waiting last year for the goalies to play better never panned out we drowned and then we get two goalies on Deadline day never made sense and I think that was kind of a a horrible misstep on his part if I’m being blunt horrible misstep and now this summer he’s tasked with fixing this roster that ultimately he’s responsible for and so it was a great start with markstrom we have this number 10 pick in tomorrow’s draft and I’ve said time and time again on the channel here I personally am in win now mode and to me getting markstrom for the two years left on his deal that’s a win now move and so you must you absolutely must continue to make win now moves and part of winning now in my opinion is dealing that number 10 pick because whoever we draft potentially with that pick is not going to fit the window of markstrom it’s just it’s it’s not you know at earliest maybe depending on who it is the guy could be on the devil’s roster in three years maybe even four you know that’s not fitting the win now window and so I personally am now over the you know looking down the line in the future is bright we’re past that now and the time to win is now Marr’s here for two years you need to make this roster as competitive as possible on paper before we head into the season to give this team a chance to make a run at a cup and so win now to me is not drafting with a 10th pick it would be ultimately dealing it for an impact impact rather roster player or maybe a more strategic move in the way of a couple possibilities let me just get to my my first you know order of operation here I personally would try to trade the pick for a top six Winger a lot of you have expressed wanting to trade it for different defenseman and different packages I personally would not deal that 10th pick towards a defenseman simply because there’s a plethora of defenseman available in free agency that we could sign and at a no asset cost meaning we don’t have to trade or give anyone up to just sign these guys in free agency with that being being said for defenseman if it were there was somehow other pieces involved whether it was other picks prospects maybe you know possibly someone taking on Pat’s contract to get that off the books if it’s more of a a bigger piece deal that fixes some other problems I’d be open to it but in a vacuum trading the number 10 pick towards a defenseman to me is is just silly and a waste of a beautiful asset in the 10th overall tons of guys in free agent we could agency we could sign it won’t cost anything and so they should go that route and in my opinion if you’re GNA cash that 10th pick in make it for a top six Winger preferably I don’t know who may be out there available haven’t heard too many rumors but if there’s a possibility to land an impact guy who’s going to be a top six Winger I think maybe not straight up but using the tenth towards that with maybe some other pieces coming our way that would be something I’d be looking at as a viable solution to improve the roster and another thing I’ve thought of is and it’s not as as sexy or or exciting of a thing to do is that maybe we look at either trading for a roster player in the form of a top nine or bottom six type guy with a 2025 next year’s first round pick coming back and why I say that is again we all know we have needs on the roster as is and we dealt away our 2025th first round pick to obtain markstrom replacing that pick would be huge because if the devils are a competitive team next season which I fully expect them to be I fully expect them to be a contender competing for the division firmly in a playoff spot for the season heading into the playoffs if that is the case and this Devil’s team is a contender you would love to have a first round pick at your disposable to potentially trade at the deadline as a buyer hopefully we’re buyers at free agency looking to bolster our team to get us over the hump to win a cup and a lot of teams when they’re selling players off at the deadline are looking for a first round pick in that year’s draft we currently do not have one because we dealt it in the marstrom deal so I would also with this number 10 pick if I’m Fitz I would be definitely entertaining um a situation where I could get a roster player for now and replacing the 2025 first round pick we lost when we sent it to Calgary for markstrom I think that would give you a player that helps us today on our roster and it gives us that 2025 first rounder to potentially trade at the deadline to bring someone in to push us over the hump while pushing for a cup so I think that is a viable route to go as well however in the news the past couple of days I’ve seen some troubling reports some troubling troubling reports and I’ll just get into them I guess in the order that they rolled out I made a video about this a few days ago but Brett peshi rumored heavily by multiple outlets now for days Carolina defenseman Brett peshy rumored to be signing with the New Jersey Devils and you know know after sitting back and really thinking about it and analyzing it while Brett pesi would be an upgrade for somebody on defense he certainly be an upgrade right you know there’s no doubt that he’s better than whoever he’s going to replace while it is an upgrade is Brett pesy the type of guy that the Devils need is he the type of player that’s going to help move this roster forward is he bringing elements that we lacked all season long I’ve talked about I thought we were baby charm and soft getting pushed around bullied around way too easy to play against you saw the playoffs are a war and the team needs to get tougher and so I’ve been saying that all season a lot of you have echoed that sentiment and beli the same exact thing and then last week Fitz had the quote that he was looking to get a little heavier a little edgier and a little more violent heavier edgier a little more violent and so when I look at Brett pesi is he making us heavier edgier or a little more violent and the reality is I’m going to say no I’m G to say no to all three and that is why it is discouraging to me to hear these rumors have so much legs now don’t get don’t get me wrong I I again I believe peshi is an upgrade over whoever he’s going to replace absolutely and if we were going to get like peshi and zadorov I would say okay I could live with that I could definitely live with that however I don’t think if we get peshi we are going to go get zadorov or any of these other you know more physical defenseman I think peshi would be the main thing you’re going to see on the defense and maybe we you know find a more veteran lower costing defenseman to round out the defense or maybe or maybe not who knows maybe hitaka gets a shot there’s a lot of possibilities but when Fitz comes out and says we need to get heavier edgier more violent and then Brett PES is the rumored name he’s not checking any one of those boxes and so I start to really wonder and say you know am I is this is this punked am I on a hidden camera television show because again when he said that I said Fitz is saying the right things but saying and doing are two very different things and so for him to say that and if Brett pesy is our big defensive Splash I’m going to be very disappointed because while he is an upgrade is he the right type of upgrade I don’t want to simply just get a better guy I want it to be a better guy that fits what we need and we need physicality and we need violence Fitz said it himself peshi is not bringing that and so that’s very disheartening again the asteris next to that is if he gets peshi and zadorov cool but if it’s just going to be pesy as the major move on defense he’s not checking any one of those three boxes that Fitzgerald himself said he was looking to do and so I really start to wonder what the hell is going on here because if that’s the direction you’re going it’s it’s just more the same it’s the definition of insanity we’re setting oursel up to be a soft team and get smacked around again and it it shouldn’t be the case and even more troubling in the past couple days now another hurricane has been heavily rumored to the New Jersey Devils and that is Martin NIS Martin NIS now again don’t get me wrong Mar Martin NIS is a good player a good to great player but once again I’m not just looking for upgrades on paper that oh this guy’s better than this you know nus would definitely be an upgrade in our forward group for somebody someone’s gonna get bumped down or bumped out whatever it is is NIS heavier edgier or more violent and the answer is also an astounding no and so while I do value both these players you know naturis and peshi the reality is the Devils have more pressing needs than what they bring we need that we need need exactly what Fitz told us heavier edgier more violent neither one of these guys are doing that and so I it just becomes very baffling because the messaging would not be consistent here he said we need those things and now we’re looking at players that are not bringing us those things and so it’s very disheartening and especially when people are are talking about possibly trading the 10th pick in a deal to get NIS I think this would be a horrific move and I would be furious if it happens I hope the rumors are nonsense uh I hope I hope there’s no merit to them because again you’re not checking the boxes of what you laid out as the criteria heavier edgier more violent 0 for three across the board and so there’s other guys out there that fit these roles and these the types of guys I want to see coming in that’s it I I have no interest in trading the number 10 pick for Martin hes none whatsoever and so if that’s if that’s potentially being looked at then I I hope we do either draft with it or find another deal because NES to me unfortunately is not is not pushing us forward to be more competitive for a cup run while he is going to be an upgrade you know we need we need a very special type of upgrade and I don’t think he fits the role and I don’t think peshi does either now if you’re telling me we’re getting these guys and there’s all these other moves on Deck then I would say fine but I don’t know that I have the faith in Fitz Dr to do that if he goes and gets peshi and NIS I don’t it we’s all the coming from is he going to go get another um defenseman a grittier defenseman is he going to find one of those and then go find one or two gritty forwards I don’t know that he has it in him to do this complete overhaul in one summer and so I hope that the rumors are nothing more than that we will find out the draft is a little more than 24 hours away free agency’s opening up in in a few days um and there’s a lot of possibilities out there but I really hope that we find a better situation to deal the number 10 pick or just draft with it because if we’re going to trade TR it for Martin hus I think that’s a huge fail and it’d be a huge mistake but let me know what you guys think about this do you guys want peshi if that’s going to be our only big move on defense I certainly don’t I would take him in conjunction with a zadorov but I think that’s a pipe dream I think if we get peshi that’s kind of the end of bigger name Acquisitions on the blue line let me know what you guys think about that and what do you guys think about trading the number 10 for Martin NIS I’m an absolutely not I’ll be curious I think some people are getting excited by it let me know what you guys think about NES and I also think some of these things have become almost you know the fans I feel like are almost so beaten down at this point that they will applaud almost any player that seems like an upgrade right so it’s like oh this guy’s better than what we got so that’s yeah good move but that’s just because we’ve been beaten down and the expectations and the bar has been set so low no we should be demanding greatness greatness and obviously we haven’t got greatness in my opinion at the general manager position in quite some time and just making these paper upgrades to me is not really doing the team Justice and so I personally will be furious if we trade the number 10 pick for NES I don’t think that’s the right thing to do and he has to follow what he said Practice What You Preach you said heavier edgier more violent the two guys being heavily rumored to us right now provide none of those and so I’m going to say it’s nonsense that is not what we should be doing and I hope that it’s just rumors and that I’m proven wrong uh I’m trying to stay optimistic seeing these rumors and hearing them it’s a little disheartening but who knows if they have any Merit I mean there just been so many that I think there’s got to be something to it but time will tell all eyes on fits this is a huge 36 48 hour window and I do think this summer is ultimately going to Define his legacy and whether he’s here long into the future or if he’s eventually shown the door at some point next season or next summer because the seed has to be hot we just can’t have the season we had in 22 23 and then have the flop of a season we had last year and then with all this regression and these steps backwards it’s just not acceptable and we need to keep it moving the nucleus ages quicker than you realize years fly by and these guys have been playing on crap teams you know nieser has been to the playoffs twice I mean you know Tampa worked us over in five games and uh and then he finally made it back with Jack and the boys and um you know beat the Rangers in seven and then got decimated by the canes but you got to get there consistently before you could make the big push and the pieces are there for the taking the summer so let’s see what Fitz does we’re a little more than 24 hours away from the draft free agency opening but I’m hoping he pulls off a miracle at the number 10 pick if he trades it for Martin hes that is not a miracle that’s just I don’t even know it’s a call it to be said but let me know what you guys think in the comments about the draft these names being rumored to us anything everything Devil’s hockey if you’re new to the channel poke around there’s a lot of videos in the past week or two about Neville uh Devil’s news and events thank you all for watching I will be back soon hopefully the NHL awards are an entertaining ceremony I know Luke’s basically just going there to watch Bard get the cder’s Rookie of the Year because that was locked up for Bedard a long time ago but you know it’s nice to see Luke get the mention and to get the invite to the ceremony so that’ll be interesting but I think that’s all I got for you guys now I will be back later I’m hoping some news breaks and there’s something to get excited about but until then stay cool in the summer heat and I’ll be back later love you all like comment subscribe and all that jazz until next time friends let’s go devil [Applause]
New Jersey Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald is tasked with fixing this Devils roster this offseason.
We are a little more than 24 hours away from the NHL Draft, where the NJ Devils hold the #10 Overall pick.
ALL EYES ON FITZ!
Should Fitz trade this pick?
If so, for who?
Should he draft with the pick?
Are we going to sign Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce in Free Agency?
Should Fitz trade for Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas?
I discuss it all in this video.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
See our other videos for Devils Coverage!
Subscribe for more Devils content to come!:
https://www.youtube.com/@runninwiththedevils?sub_confirmation=1
Follow us on Spotify:
Follow us on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/runninwiththenjdevils/
Follow us on X:
https://www.instagram.com/runninwiththenjdevils/
#njdevils #tomfitzgerald #newjerseydevils #martinnecas #brettpesce #necas #pesce #carolinahurricanes #nhldraft #nhldraft24 #devils #njdevilspodcast #newjerseydevilspodcast #nhl #hockey #nhlrumor #nhlrumors #nhltrades #nhltraderumor #nhltrade #nhlfreeagency #nhltraderumors