{"id":407868,"date":"2026-01-14T21:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T21:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/407868\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T21:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T21:12:11","slug":"devils-news-gm-tom-fitzgerald-takes-blame-for-dismal-season-this-isnt-good-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/407868\/","title":{"rendered":"Devils news: GM Tom Fitzgerald takes blame for dismal season: ‘This isn’t good enough’"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his first press conference in months, Devils<\/a> general manager Tom Fitzgerald took an unmistakable stance on who bears responsibility for the team\u2019s disappointing performance this season: himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where we\u2019re at right now. It\u2019s on me. And I\u2019m one to take accountability on myself,\u201d Fitzgerald said in the opening minutes, setting a tone of ownership that permeated the entire session. <\/p>\n

The statement wasn\u2019t just rhetoric \u2014 it was repeated multiple times as media members pressed for explanations about the team\u2019s struggles.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald didn\u2019t mince words about the current state of affairs, stating bluntly, \u201cThis isn\u2019t good enough. It is absolutely not good enough. We\u2019re not meeting the standard and expectations we\u2019ve set.\u201d <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a stark acknowledgment that will resonate with Devils fans who have grown increasingly frustrated with a team that showed so much promise early this season after last year\u2019s first-round playoff exit to the Carolina Hurricanes.<\/p>\n

This year, the Devils were among the NHL\u2019s best teams in the opening weeks of the season. But after Jack Hughes\u2019 stunning off-the-ice injury in November, the team fell apart. Even as Hughes returned, the Devils have had problems syncing their game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel for the fans, I really do,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cThey\u2019re used to Stanley cup championship teams with players like (Ken Daneyko) Dano and anything less is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

When directly challenged about why he should remain in his position given the team\u2019s performance, Fitzgerald didn\u2019t flinch. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great question and a question I know a lot of people probably want to know,\u201d he responded, before expressing confidence in his vision. \u201cI\u2019m very confident in where I\u2019ve taken this team to and how we built through the core and added the pieces that we wanted to add to become a contender every year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think I can be the one to help move this organization forward,\u201d he insisted, highlighting his personal connection to the region. \u201cI love New Jersey. It\u2019s my… It\u2019s been my home for the past 10 years, 11 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Devils (23-21-2, 48 points) enter Wednesday\u2019s game against the Seattle Kraken six points behind the Washington Capitals for third place in the Metropolitan Division and five points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final wild card position.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s time to reverse the season. But like Fitzgerald, time is running out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In his first press conference in months, Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald took an unmistakable stance on who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5109],"tags":[1548,201,5,576,151,5185,5184,4],"class_list":["post-407868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-new-jersey-devils","tag-color","tag-devils","tag-hockey","tag-new-jersey","tag-new-jersey-devils","tag-newjersey","tag-newjerseydevils","tag-nhl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115895516736516630","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407868\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}