{"id":544691,"date":"2026-04-07T01:41:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T01:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/544691\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T01:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T01:41:04","slug":"devils-move-on-from-gm-tom-fitzgerald-after-six-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/544691\/","title":{"rendered":"Devils move on from GM Tom Fitzgerald after six seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Islanders aren\u2019t the only local hockey team making massive changes with just a handful of games left in the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Devils announced on Monday that the organization parted ways with general manager Tom Fitzgerald, with a disappointing season set to end next week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald was fired with one more year left on his contract, according to multiple reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Devils fired GM Tom Fitzgerald on Monday. NHLI via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald had held the GM post in New Jersey since January 2020, when he was first named interim general manager. The Devils entered Monday sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 40-34-3 record.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTom and I had a thoughtful conversation today and agreed it was time to move in a new direction,\u201d Devils managing partner David Blitzer said in a statement on Monday that lauded Fitzgerald\u2019s accomplishments while serving as general manager. \u201cAs we prepare to move forward, it is important I acknowledge our fans. I recognize we have not delivered in the way you expect and deserve and I understand and share in your frustration. This is a critical offseason for our franchise, and we will explore all avenues that best position the Devils to compete for a Stanley Cup once again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Devils have appeared in the postseason just twice during Fitzgerald\u2019s six seasons at the helm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They reached the second round during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs before being knocked out by the Hurricanes in five games after upsetting the Rangers in the first round.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New Jersey was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season when they were again eliminated by the Hurricanes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter talking with (co-owner) David Blitzer, it was apparent to everyone that the best course of action is to move on for the benefit of the team,\u201d Fitzgerald said in a statement. \u201cI am incredibly appreciative to David, (co-owner) Josh Harris, and the entire New Jersey Devils organization for being a part of my life for the past decade. The Devils are fortunate to have a core of great players, vocal and passionate fans, but most importantly, tremendous people who worked with me toward a common goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ManTom Fitzgerald, general manager of the Devils, enters the stadium before the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series game against the Philadelphia Flyers at MetLife Stadium on February 17, 2024. NHLI via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always said that New Jersey is a hidden gem and I\u2019m proud of the effort that we put in to raise the standard and make it a destination. I look forward to the next step in my hockey career and will always look back fondly on my time with the Devils.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Islanders aren\u2019t the only local hockey team making massive changes with just a handful of games left…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544692,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5109],"tags":[201,5,576,151,5185,5184,4,43,3502],"class_list":{"0":"post-544691","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-jersey-devils","8":"tag-devils","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-new-jersey","11":"tag-new-jersey-devils","12":"tag-newjersey","13":"tag-newjerseydevils","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-tom-fitzgerald"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116360884473062694","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544691","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=544691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}