There’s a saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
There’s also another saying that there are no original ideas anymore, or that good ideas are borrowed, but great ideas are stolen.
I say all that to preface my article this week, as I was scrolling through Twitter over the weekend and saw a tweet from Noah Strang,
who wrote a lengthy article on his substack over the weekend. With the Vancouver Canucks somewhere in the mushy middle of the NHL standings and more and more people criticizing Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford, Noah broke down every trade the Canucks have made since they took over the decision making process for that organization.
It’s a lengthy read that I think is worth checking out as a hockey fan, and while he ultimately did not pass final judgment on the Rutherford/Allvin era, I think its easy for fans to see the body of work as a collective whole and draw their own conclusions.
With Tom Fitzgerald being on the job even longer than them, I decided to ‘borrow’ an idea from Strang and give you the Devils version, breaking down and grading every trade Fitzgerald has made since stepping into the big chair. After all, it’s Tom Fitzgerald’s job to make moves to make the Devils a better hockey team, and
its not like there haven’t been certain non-hockey events recently that may or may not necessitate going out and
doing something to address the rash of injuries the team has endured. The Devils currently sit at the top of the standings in the Metropolitan Division, and teams in this position typically make moves to improve.
I’ll probably eventually do a similar article in the summer recapping and grading every free agent signing in the Fitzgerald era, but those moves won’t be included here. We don’t need to talk about how bad the Ondrej Palat signing was for the billionth time. What we can talk about in the comments is the job Fitzgerald has done making trades since he took over as interim general manager on January 12th, 2020 after the Devils fired the late Ray Shero.
The primary source for this will be PuckPedia.
Devils Trade Their Captain to the Islanders
Islanders Acquire: D Andy Greene
Devils Acquire: D David Quenneville & a 2021 2nd round draft pick (later traded to Colorado for D Ryan Graves)
Date: February 16th, 2020
For context, the Devils were in the middle of a disastrous season in 2019-20. Ray Shero and John Hynes were fired months earlier, and the Devils had already traded Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes when it was apparent that he would not re-sign in New Jersey. With the trade deadline approaching, the fire sale was underway.
Greene, the Devils captain, was a 37-year old pending UFA at the time, so it made sense trading him at the deadline, and while Quenneville wound up not doing much in the Devils organization before moving on to the Swedish League, the Devils wound up parlaying that 2nd round pick into two seasons of Ryan Graves. A solid first deal for Fitzgerald.
Grade: B
Devils Fire Sale Continues With a Fan Favorite
Lightning Acquire: C/W Blake Coleman
Devils Acquire: W Nolan Foote and a 2020 1st round pick (D Shakir Mukhamadullin)
Date: February 16th, 2020
Blake Coleman had one of the best contracts in the league at the time. He was in Year 2 of a 3-year pact making $1.8M AAV, which was excellent value for a very good third line winger. The demands for his services at the trade deadline were high, and the Tampa Bay Lightning ultimately got what wound up being a key role player for two championship teams. I would think they would do that deal all over again if they could.
But would the Devils? I’d say so, even if it didn’t work out quite as expected.
Nolan Foote wound up playing parts of five NHL seasons with the Devils, but was ultimately unable to establish himself as an NHL regular and the Devils moved on this past offseason. But he was a recent first round pick of the Lightning at the time and a well-regarded prospect where he made prospect rankings lists. It made sense for a team that was still thin with their prospect pool to target a player like Foote. They also did get a first round pick for a bottom six player, which is good value. The Devils wound up taking defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin with that pick, who ultimately became the centerpiece of a deal we’ll talk about later.
Grade: B+
Sell, Sell, Sell At the Trade Deadline
Sabres acquire: W Wayne Simmonds
Devils acquire: 2021 5th round pick (D Topias Vilen)
Date: February 24th, 2020
Did you remember that long-time Flyer Wayne Simmonds was briefly a Devil? I did. But I can forgive you if you didn’t.
The Devils retained half of Simmonds’ $5M AAV to pick up a future 5th round pick, which wound up becoming Topias Vilen. It was a worthwhile move to add another prospect to the pool, although I’m skeptical that Vilen will ever become anything more than he is right now.
Grade: B-
A Goaltender Swap, Because Why Not
Canucks acquire: G Louis Domingue
Devils acquire: G Zane McIntyre
Date: February 24th, 2020
I assume the Canucks were in the market for an organizational depth goaltender as a “just in case” for a playoff push, hence this deal. And it made sense for them, as Domingue has appeared in 144 NHL games versus 8 for McIntyre. Money probably wasn’t a primary motivating factor here, but the Devils did wound up saving about $400k with this deal, which probably made an accountant at HBSE happy. Otherwise, this trade is mostly irrelevant.
Grade: D
Devils Sell Off Another Pending Free Agent
Hurricanes acquire: D Sami Vatanen
Devils acquire: C/W Janne Kuokkanen, D Fredrik Claesson, and a 2020 3rd round pick (G Nico Daws)
Date: February 24th, 2020
The Devils acquired Vatanen a few years earlier when they traded Adam Henrique to the Ducks, but with him being another pending UFA on a team going nowhere, it made sense to move on and get what you could from him. And again, I thought Fitzgerald got solid value, even if the pieces didn’t entirely work out.
Janne Kuokkanen played parts of three seasons in New Jersey and at one time looked like part of what could’ve been a fun line alongside Jack Hughes and Yegor Sharangovich. But he ultimately fell out of favor before the Devils bought out his contract. Kuokkanen has bounced between with Swiss and Swedish leagues since leaving the NHL. Claesson got into a few games for the Devils down the stretch of that season and bounced around the league a few more years before taking his talents to the KHL.
As it turns out, the ‘get’ in this deal was the draft pick used to select Nico Daws. The jury is still out whether or not Daws has a future in New Jersey, especially after the Devils re-signed both Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen. But he’s a solid organizational depth goaltender and he’ll probably get another opportunity for the big club at some point.
Grade: B+
A Draft Pick Swap
Coyotes Acquire: 2020 7th round pick (W Elliot Ekefjard)
Devils Acquire: 2021 7th round pick (C Zakhar Bardakov)
Date: October 7th, 2020
I’m sure this is the last time Bardakov’s name will come up in this article. Right?
Grade: B
Devils Take a Flier On a Veteran Defenseman
Devils Acquire: D Ryan Murray
Blue Jackets Acquire: 2021 5th round pick (D Nikolai Makarov)
Date: October 8th, 2020
It’s important to remember that the Devils teams between 2014 and 2022 or so didn’t exactly have a ton of talent up and down the roster. But they did have cap space and they did have the time to take a flier on projects while they got their own house in order.
Ryan Murray, the former 2nd overall pick way back in 2012, fell out of favor after seven seasons in Ohio’s capital. But with one year left to go on his contract, he was a prime trade candidate and I don’t blame the Devils for taking a chance on a player with a high draft pedigree attached to him.
Murray was mostly ok in his only season in NJ, with 14 assists in 48 games (of the 56 game season). Murray wound up playing a couple more seasons in the league after leaving the Devils in free agency. Hindsight being 20/20, one might argue they’re better off with the pick, but
its not like they really missed out on anything.
Grade: B-
Devils Take On Another Salary Cap Dump
Devils Acquire: W Andreas Johnsson
Maple Leafs Acquire: W Joey Anderson
Date: October 10, 2020
The Devils continued to use their abundance of cap space by taking a chance on guys who could play in the NHL for them at the time. Johnsson struggled in his first season in Jersey with 11 points in 50 games. He was better in Year 2 with 13 goals and 22 assists, so maybe one can point to the weirdness with the COVID-shortened season and blame that. All in all, he played in 123 games for the Devils before becoming a salary cap dump throw-in for the Devils in the Timo Meier trade. He’s played the last three years in the Swedish league.
Meanwhile, Anderson bounced between the Leafs and the Marlies for a few seasons before being dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks and going through the same song and dance there. His most notable NHL season was in 2023-23 where he registered 5 goals and 12 assists for Chicago, but I think it’s safe to call this deal a wash at best.
Grade: C+
Lou Makes Another Deal With The Devil(s)
Devils Acquire: C Mason Jobst, W A.J. Greer, a 2021 first round pick (W Chase Stillman), and a 2022 4th round pick (D Daniil Orlov)
Islanders Acquire: W Kyle Palmieri and C Travis Zajac
Date: April 7th, 2021
One year after striking a deal with his former team, Lou Lamoriello struck again.
The Devils were still in sell-mode with two big pending UFAs in Kyle Palmieri and longtime center Travis Zajac. The Isles were in the midst of pushing their chips in to try to win a Stanley Cup that they’d never quite reach. So on the surface, the deal makes sense for both sides. Zajac got one last opportunity to compete for a Cup before retiring, and Palmieri is still on the Isles roster to this day.
Hindsight being 20/20 though, the Devils return, which appeared to be fine at the time, is kind of underwhelming.
The Devils wound up retaining salary on both Palmieri and Zajac to facilitate the deal. But Mason Jobst wound up not lasting long in the Devils organization. Greer has wound up carving out an NHL role for himself as a 4th line grinder, but most of that work has come since he left New Jersey. We’ll see if Orlov ever becomes anything, and the Stillman pick was panned at the time and he’s also gone from the organization.
But value wise, I think the value was fair. They got a first round pick back. They got an additional pick back. They got what wound up being a useful NHL player back. The Devils might have bungled what they got back for their two outgoing veteran players but its tough to argue they didn’t get value back.
Grade: B
One of the Longshots Paid Off
Capitals receive: 2021 3rd round pick (pick was later traded to the Rangers, who selected C Ryder Korczak)
Devils receive: D Jonas Siegenthaler
Date: April 11th, 2021
Having received this draft selection previously from the Arizona Coyotes as part of the return for Taylor Hall, the Devils opted to take a stab on a little known Swiss defender who was buried on the Capitals depth chart at the time.
Safe to say, that longshot stab in the dark paid off in a big way.
Siegenthaler has been a fixture as a Top 4 defenseman for the Devils basically since he arrived in New Jersey, averaging just under 20 minutes a night in the 287 games and counting he’s played for the Devils. He’s a reliable stay-at-home defender who has been a fixture on their penalty kill unit. Fitzgerald rewarded him with a team friendly five-year extension paying him $3.4M AAV through the end of the 2027-28 season. To land a player like that and get all of his prime years under contract at a more than reasonable AAV, and all it cost was a third round pick? That’s excellent GM’ing by Fitzgerald and a credit to whoever in their pro scouting department who saw Siegenthaler as a potential top pairing defenseman. This is probably the best trade Fitz has made as Devils GM.
Grade: A+
Shifting Back to Seller Mode
Oilers receive: D Dmitry Kulikov
Devils receive: 2022 4th round draft pick (D Charlie Leddy)
Date: April 12th, 2021
One day after “buying” at the deadline by making the Siegenthaler deal, the Devils shifted back to selling mode by moving another pending UFA in Dmitry Kulikov.
Kulikov was already a well-traveled veteran defenseman, with stops in Florida, Buffalo, and Winnipeg before arriving in New Jersey. Kulikov was more than adequate in his only season in Newark, but with him being a pending UFA and the Devils going nowhere, it made sense to get what they could for him in a lost season. Edmonton thought that Kulikov could be a nice depth piece on a championship caliber team, and they were right. The problem for them was that Kulikov won those championships in Florida against the Edmonton Oilers.
Leddy played two seasons at Boston College and is in the middle of his second season at Quinnipiac, so we’ll see if the Devils wind up signing him once his collegiate career comes to an end. That said, I suppose he has just as much of a shot as anyone else of making it, which is all you can ask for four and a half years after the trade.
Grade: B
Taking Advantage Of The Expansion Draft Rules
Avalanche receive: C Mikhail Maltsev and a 2021 2nd round pick (acquired from the Islanders in the Andy Greene trade)
Devils receive: D Ryan Graves
Date: July 15th, 2021
The Devils were in a unique position heading into the Seattle expansion draft where several of their top prospects weren’t eligible. Because of this, they didn’t have a ton of players who were worthy of protection in the draft. They tried to take advantage of this a few years earlier when they acquired Mirco Mueller from a Sharks team that had a deep blueline at the time, but that deal didn’t really work out.
This time around, the Devils did a better job.
For the reasonable price of a 2nd round pick and a prospect in Mikhail Maltsev, the Devils were able to pry away a Top Four defenseman from another deep team in the Colorado Avalanche and acquire Ryan Graves. They were then able to protect both Graves and the recently-acquired Siegenthaler from the Kraken in the expansion draft. Graves stepped onto a pairing with Damon Severson that overall did a good job during their two years together in Jersey.
The Devils ultimately allowed Graves to leave in free agency after the 2022-23 season, and that turned out to also be a wise decision by Tom Fitzgerald. The Penguins signed him to a six-year deal worth $4.5M AAV that has ultimately been a disaster for them, as Graves has spent most of this season at the AHL level. Meanwhile, Maltsev bounced back and forth between the Avs and the Colorado Eagles of the AHL before departing for the KHL after the 2023-24 season.
Grade: A-
A Classic Change of Scenery Deal That Didn’t Really Work Out For Either Side
Devils acquire: D Christian Jaros
Sharks acquire: W Nicholas Merkley
Date: July 26th, 2021
The Devils continued to take stabs on young defensemen who might be able to play at the NHL level, but here’s a deal that didn’t really work out for anyone involved.
Nicholas Merkley, who was part of the return from the Coyotes for Taylor Hall, didn’t really have a lane for playing time at the NHL level with what the Devils had in place. So the Devils flipped him straight up for Christian Jaros, who had some NHL experience but ultimately fell out of favor in both Ottawa and San Jose before winding up in New Jersey.
Jaros played in 11 mostly uneventful games for the Devils while Merkley played in 9 games for the Sharks post-trade. Jaros left after that season and bounced around the KHL until attempting an NHL comeback this season with the Columbus Blue Jackets that didn’t pan out. Merkley also went the KHL route after the 2021-22 season ended and is currently with the Shanghai Dragons.
I don’t blame Fitzgerald for trying here, but this deal is a whole lot of ‘meh’
Grade: C-
The End of the Will Butcher Era
Sabres acquire: D Will Butcher and a 2022 5th round draft pick (used on D Vsevolod Komarov)
Devils acquire…..cap space? Future considerations.
Date: July 28th, 2021
The 2017-18 Devils were known for a lot of things…..returning to the postseason for the first time since 2012, the NHL debuts of Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt, and Taylor Hall’s Hart Trophy season.
Add “Will Butcher’s rookie season” to the list as well.
The Devils won the Will Butcher sweepstakes as they landed the coveted college free agent out of the University of Denver after a Hobey Baker Award season. Butcher made an immediate impact, with 44 points in 81 games and finishing 9th in the Calder voting. He took a bit of a step back in his second season, but still managed 30 points in 78 games. Then-GM Ray Shero rewarded Butcher with a three-year extension worth $3.73M AAV.
Unfortunately for the Devils, Butcher’s deficiencies as a player never really improved. He was never really the greatest skater to begin with, his defensive game never came around, and his offense continued to plummet. After two injury-plagued disappointing seasons with the Devils, they decided to move on in what was a pure salary cap dump, attaching a 5th round draft pick to entice the Buffalo Sabres to take on the final year of his deal. Butcher played out his NHL contract in Buffalo, and has bounced around the AHL and KHL since.
The good news for Butcher is
this wasn’t the most significant transaction involving a Devils defenseman on this day. When you’re spending the kind of money you’re spending on Dougie Hamilton, there’s only so much room for offensive defensemen. Unfortunately, the Devils had to attach a pick to Butcher to get someone to take him, which knocks the trade grade down a few pegs.
Grade: D+
The One Where the Team That Got Nothing Won the Deal Going Away
Blues receive: Future considerations
Devils receive: G Jon Gillies
Date: December 15th, 2021
Most people have tried to forget the disaster that was the 2021-22 season, but here’s a quick refresher.
The Devils went into the season with Jonathan Bernier and Mackenzie Blackwood as their goaltending duo, which is fine on paper. Except Bernier, who was hampered in training camp that year with a hip injury from the previous season, suffered a career-ending hip injury after 10 games with the Devils. And when Blackwood wasn’t ineffective on the ice, he was injured off the ice.
Blackwood missed time early that season with an injury. The Devils organizational #3 goaltender that year was Scott Wedgewood, with two relatively unproven options behind him in Nico Daws and Akira Schmid in their first pro seasons. So when Blackwood was ready to return, Wedgewood went on waivers, where he was ultimately claimed by the Arizona Coyotes.
It didn’t take long for Bernier to go down for good and for Blackwood to get hurt again and/or be ineffective again. With Wedgewood no longer in the organization, the Devils acquired Gillies to try to take some of the load off of Daws and Schmid. Unfortunately, Gillies was brutal and many words were written on this website about Devils goaltending that season while Wedgewood proved to be solid elsewhere. But hey, at least the Devils protected Mason Geertsen from going back on waivers, because you gotta have your priorities in order when you know you have two injured NHL goaltenders to protect a goon who isn’t good at being a goon or anything for that matter.
This is the rare deal where the Devils gave up nothing and they lost the trade by a mile. This deal and the following deal were organizational failures, from poor roster construction to poor roster management to poor performance by the players involved. Not only does the trade get a failing grade but so does the process surrounding it. And no, I don’t care that the Devils bottoming out led to them getting the #2 pick to draft Simon Nemec. That does not make the deal good after the fact.
Grade: F-
Another Failed Goaltender Trade
Devils acquire: G Andrew Hammond
Canadiens acquire: C Nate Schnarr
Date: March 21st, 2022
Everything I just wrote about the Gillies trade goes for Andrew Hammond as well. The only difference is I do recall hearing how much Tom Fitzgerald was an idiot at the time for giving up on Nate Schnarr. So I’ll take this time to point out that after playing one more AHL season for Laval and Ontario, he’s been playing professionally overseas.
The good news is that the Devils missed out on nothing by trading Schnarr. The bad news is that they got Andrew Hammond, who was also not good.
Grade: F
A Different Type Of Goaltender Trade
Devils acquire: G Vitek Vanecek and a 2022 2nd round pick (D Seamus Casey)
Capitals acquire: a 2022 2nd round pick (D Ryan Chesley) and a 2022 3rd round pick (W Alexander Suzdalev)
Date: July 8th, 2022
With it apparent that Jonathan Bernier was not going to be an option going forward, the Devils were once again in the goaltender business to find a veteran to pair with Mackenzie Blackwood. So for the relatively low price of a 3rd round pick and moving back 11 slots in round 2 of the NHL Draft, the Devils acquired Vitek Vanecek from the Capitals.
Vanecek ultimately had a good first season in New Jersey, helping the Devils set a franchise record in points for a season. He has struggled since then to regain his form and the Devils ultimately moved on from him the following season.
Grade: B
Moving On From a High Lottery Pick
Devils acquire: C/LW Erik Haula
Bruins acquire: C Pavel Zacha
Date: July 13th, 2022
I actually wrote about this trade when it happened, and while Zacha wound up increasing his point total output since going to Boston, I stand by my takeaway that this deal was exactly what the Devils needed at the time. Zacha’s development had plateaued by the time of this trade and his fit on the team going forward was unclear.
Haula’s first Devils season was more productive than any Zacha season he ever had in New Jersey and he was a big part of the team’s success that season. His production dropped off a bit the following two seasons as injuries struck and he wound up becoming a salary cap casualty this past summer, but I don’t think Tom Fitzgerald regrets this deal one bit. He shouldn’t.
Grade: A-
Moving On From Another Former First Round Pick
Penguins acquire: D Ty Smith and a 2023 3rd round pick (pick was eventually traded to the Rangers, who selected D Drew Fortescue)
Devils acquire: D John Marino
Date: July 16, 2022
Ty Smith, the Devils first round draft pick in 2018, was an intriguing prospect when he was selected. He projected to be a puck-moving offensive defenseman at the NHL level. While he did have some offensive skills, his poor skating and poor defensive play limited his upside and his offense wasn’t quite good enough to overcome it.
Fitzgerald packaged Smith with a 3rd round pick to get a cost-controlled RHD in John Marino from a Penguins team looking to shed salary. At the time, the deal was a breath of fresh air, as Marino made an instant impact.
Marino got hurt in Year 2 as a Devil and struggled before he was ultimately traded, but this was a smart move by Fitzgerald to get a more consistent NHL defenseman. Meanwhile, Smith bounced back and forth between with the AHL and NHL with the Penguins and then the Hurricanes before signing in the KHL this season. As with other deals on this list, Fitzgerald did well to get value for a declining asset before the wheels completely fell off.
Grade: A-
The ‘Win Now’ Trade
Sharks acquire: W Andreas Johnsson, W Fabian Zetterlund, D Nikita Okhotiuk, D Shakir Mukhamadullin, a 2023 1st round pick (W Quentin Musty), a 2024 2nd round pick (traded to Buffalo, who selected D Adam Kleber), and a 2024 7th round pick (traded to Detroit, who selected W Austin Baker)
Devils acquire: W Timo Meier, D Santeri Hatakka, W Timur Ibragimov, G Zachary Emond, D Scott Harrington, and a 2024 5th round pick (later traded in the deal that sent John Marino to Utah)
Date: February 26, 2023
I wrote about the Timo Meier trade as it happened and there were two main takeaways from this deal.
First, I deemed this a quantity over quality type of return and I think time has proven that to be correct, as the only assets that remain in the Sharks organization from this deal are Mukhamadullin (who has yet to establish himself as an NHL regular) and Musty, the Sharks 1st round pick from the deal. The Sharks already moved on from Johnsson, Okhotiuk, and Zetterlund with only the latter remaining in the NHL at this time, and they wound up trading the other draft picks the Devils gave them for other things.
Secondly, for the Devils, I declared this a win now move, and while Meier has been somewhat productive, its not quite productive enough for a player the Devils ultimately made the highest paid forward on the team. And the Devils haven’t “won now” either.
I can’t call this trade a failure though. Meier is a legitimate top six NHL winger and the Devils got him for a late first round pick, a prospect in Mukhamadullin who may or may not make it, and a whole bunch of spare parts. The Devils also signed him long term and he’s having a good start to this season. It’s a trade that should be made 10 times out of 10.
Grade: A-
Loading Up At the Trade Deadline
Devils acquire: W Curtis Lazar
Canucks acquire: 2024 4th round pick (later traded to the Flyers, who selected C Heikki Ruohonen)
Date: March 3, 2023
After making the Meier deal, Fitzgerald made one more move acquiring fourth line winger (not a center) and ultimate vibes guy Curtis Lazar from the Canucks.
Lazar was signed to a multi-year deal at a low AAV so he wasn’t a pure rental, and he wound up having a productive first full season in NJ. Injuries slowed him down in his final year in Jersey and the Devils insisted on playing him at center at times when he’s a far better winger. Overall though, I think Lazar did a fine job for the player he is.
Grade: B+
The “Wait, What?” Trade
Devils acquire: W Jayce Hawryluk
Senators acquire: Future considerations
Date: March 10th, 2023
I have no idea who this is.
Grade: D
A Minor, Minor League Swap
Devils acquire: D Zack Hayes
Hurricanes acquire: W Jonathan Dugan
Date: March 10th, 2023
I swear that I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but I have no idea who these players are.
Grade: D
The Rare NHL ‘Sign-And-Trade’ Trade
Devils Acquire: 2023 3rd round pick (Calgary’s original pick that wound up being traded back to them in the Tyler Toffoli deal)
Blue Jackets Acquire: D Damon Severson
Date: June 8th, 2023
Sign and trades are fairly common in the NBA, but the aren’t all that common in the NHL. There’s been a few of them, with Matthew Tkachuk going to the Panthers and Mitch Marner going to the Golden Knights being two prominent examples, but another example is the
Damon Severson deal to Columbus.
Severson is a useful, but flawed, player who was slated to hit UFA. The Devils decided he wasn’t worth retaining at his price, so they found a team that was willing to pay him what his market value was. Because the Devils were his incumbent team, only they could offer the eighth year on a long-term deal. By doing a sign-and-trade, Severson was able to get the extra security of the eighth year, while Columbus got their guy.
I think this by far is Fitzgerald’s most creative deal. Most playoff teams would just let an impending UFA leave. Fitzgerald found a way to turn a player he wasn’t going to keep into an asset, one that he wound up later flipping in another deal. Meanwhile,
Columbus is already having buyer’s remorse as Severson was a healthy scratch at times last year, so Fitzgerald avoided another disaster contract in the process.
Grade: A+
Another Classic Minor League Change of Scenery Deal
Devils acquire: C Shane Bowers
Bruins acquire: D Reilly Walsh
Date: June 26th, 2023
The Devils, at the time, didn’t have a lot of center depth at the AHL level (they still dont have center depth, by the way), but they have defensemen. The Bruins needed another defenseman. So the two teams connected on a fairly minor deal.
Grade: C
Moving On From Mac
Sharks acquire: G Mackenzie Blackwood
Devils acquire: 2023 6th round pick (W Cole Brown)
Date: June 27th, 2023
After three injury plagued and underperforming seasons, it was time for the Devils and Mackenzie Blackwood to part ways. The Devils needed to improve in net to take the next step as a contending team and Blackwood was too inconsistent to be relied upon.
No, I don’t care that Blackwood played brilliantly every time the Devils faced him. Nor do I care that he had a good year last year. Blackwood has been injured and not very good again this year, which proves the point that he’s too inconsistent and injured to be counted on. I suspect Colorado will learn that lesson the hard way after handing him a 5-year deal worth $5.25M AAV.
We’ll see if Cole Brown ever becomes an NHL player, as he’s in his first collegiate season at Notre Dame.
Grade: B+
Trading One Goal Scoring Winger For Another
Devils Acquire: W Tyler Toffoli
Flames Acquire: W Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 3rd round pick (previously acquired in the Damon Severson trade)
Date: June 27th, 2023
This is a deal where I loved the process for the Devils.
They wanted to add a more consistent goal scoring threat on the wing coming off of a playoff appearance. Tyler Toffoli is a goal scoring winger who has scored a lot of goals in his career. Yegor Sharangovich is a fine player with a lethal shot, but he’s not as consistent. And in fairness to Toffoli, he came as advertised. He scored for the Devils.
Unfortunately, the Devils season was sunk by poor goaltending, poor defense, and poor coaching, and rather than sign the pending UFA Toffoli to a contract extension (which was probably the right move), Fitzgerald wound up flipping Toffoli months later in a deal we’ll talk about later to recoup some of those assets he surrendered.
Interestingly enough, there were some loud critics who ripped Fitzgerald for trading a guy who wound up scoring 31 goals for the Flames that season while shooting 17.3%. No word on how those people feel now that Sharangovich is in Year 1 of a 5-year deal paying him $5.75M AAV and having his second bad season in a row.
Grade: A-
David Poile’s Final Deal
Predators acquire: 2023 7th round pick (W Aiden Fink)
Devils acquire: 2024 7th round pick (traded to Colorado in the Kurtis MacDermid trade)
Date: June 29th, 2023
This was a minor late draft day trade that is most notable for being the final deal that retiring Predators GM David Poile made. The fact that he got to make this deal in Nashville, where the draft was held that year, and to do it with former Predators captain Tom Fitzgerald
made for a feel good moment.
Grade: A
Adding Some Depth on the Blueline
Devils acquire: D Colin Miller
Stars acquire: 2025 5th round pick (C Atte Joki)
Date: July 1st, 2023
The Devils needed a little more depth on the blueline. Rather than pay UFA prices, they sent a late pick to the Stars for Miller.
Miller was fine. This deal was fine.
Grade: B
Another Minor League Swap
Devils acquire: W Arnaud Durandeau
Islanders acquire: W Tyce Thompson
Date: November 26th, 2023
Once upon a time, Thompson appeared to be an intriguing prospect on the verge of maybe carving out an NHL role, but injuries and inconsistencies derailed his career. Thompson played out his contract before moving on to the KHL while Durandeau has bounced around various AHL and KHL stops.
Grade: C
A Three-Team Deal With the Devils Being the Third Party
Devils acquire: 2026 4th round pick
Stars acquire: D Chris Tanev
Flames acquire: G Cole Brady, W Artyom Grushnikov, 2024 2nd round pick, conditional 2026 3rd round pick
Date: February 28th, 2024
The Stars wanted Chris Tanev. The Stars did not have enough cap space for Chris Tanev, so they needed to find a third partner to acquire him.
The Devils had cap space, as they were utilizing LTIR at the time in a season that was going nowhere. So they moved on from a goaltender prospect in Cole Brady that probably doesn’t have much of an NHL future and in exchange for retaining 25% of Tanev’s salary, they pick up an extra fourth round pick for their troubles.
The deal itself is fine, as they essentially used their extra cap space to buy an extra draft pick.
Grade: B
The Kurtis MacDermid Trade
Devils acquire: W/D Kurtis MacDermid
Avalanche acquire: C Zakhar Bardakov and a 2024 7th round pick (previously acquired from Nashville)
Date: March 1, 2024
The Devils were a soft team that had just gotten punked and embarrassed yet again. It was bad enough that in a season where it was apparent the Devils needed to sell, they felt the need to go out and add MacDermid.
I wasn’t as critical of the deal
as John was at the time, as I get why Fitzgerald made that move. But to me, the bigger issue is that it was an indictment of Fitzgerald’s team building process that he assembled a group that allowed themselves to be as easily pushed around as they were. It’s bad that the team was so soft that they just HAD to have MacDermid to change things. Had the Devils JUST traded a 7th for him, I would’ve chalked that up to being fine.
The added wrinkle to this is the Devils also gave up Bardakov, who made the Avs Opening Night roster and scored his first NHL goal against the Devils because of course he would. For a team that doesn’t have a ton of quality center options in the pipeline, giving up Bardakov stings.
Now, we don’t know what we don’t know. I don’t know if Bardakov’s camp suggested behind the scenes that he wouldn’t sign in New Jersey. I don’t know if the Devils were under the impression that Bardakov wouldn’t sign. But I do know that had he signed, he’s probably on the Devils roster right now instead of Juho Lammikko or Luke Glendening. Or at least, he’s an option.
Grade: F
Once Again, We’re Deadline Sellers
Jets acquire: W Tyler Toffoli
Devils acquire: 2025 2nd round pick (later traded to the Ducks for D Brian Dumoulin), 2024 3rd round pick (W Herman Traff)
Date: March 8th, 2024
No need to rehash this, as I’ve already mentioned the Devils that season were going nowhere and had to sell on Toffoli.
I wrote about the trade at the time and I think Toffoli’s value was what it was. Fitzgerald got what he needed to get for Toffoli and this was better than letting him walk out the door as a free agent and getting nothing.
Grade: B
The Devils Move On From Another Veteran Pending UFA
Jets acquire: D Colin Miller
Devils acquire: 2026 4th round pick
Date: March 8th, 2024
The Devils essentially turned a 2025 5th into a 2026 4th, with Miller spending half a season in New Jersey while they were sans draft pick. This is fine.
Grade: B+
The Devils Finally Add a Goaltender
Devils acquire: G Jake Allen
Canadiens acquire: 2025 3rd round pick (G Arseni Radkov)
Date: March 8th, 2024
The goaltending trio Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws, and Akira Schmid wasn’t going to cut it. The Devils needed an upgrade, and upgrade they did.
Allen has been really good since coming over from the Habs, and the Devils now have him signed to a deal that will probably keep him in New Jersey for the rest of his career.
All I ask from our goaltenders is to give us a chance to win, and more often than not, Allen does that whenever he takes the crease.
Grade: A
Why Add One Goaltender When You Can Add Two
Devils acquire: G Kaapo Kahkonen
Sharks acquire: G Vitek Vanecek and a 2025 7th round pick (W Richard Gallant)
Date: March 8th, 2024
The Devils didn’t want to play Daws or Schmid at the NHL level anymore. They also didn’t want to play Vanecek anymore. All of this was understandable at the time. So they attached a 7th round pick to get the Sharks to take on the final year of Vanecek’s contract while also picking up Kahkonen, who was no longer in the Sharks plans.
I’m still not sure why the Devils didn’t seem to like Kahkonen, who was solid overall when he was here. But I do know getting out of that last year of the Vanecek deal alone is a win, giving this trade an A grade.
Grade: A
Maybe the Devils Found a Useful Fourth Liner
Canadiens acquire: W Arnaud Durandeau
Devils acquire: W Nathan Legare
Date: March 11, 2024
Legare recently made his NHL season debut and he looked okay. He was sent back to Utica prior to last night’s game, but maybe the Devils have something there in an otherwise minor deal.
Grade: B+
The Devils Go Big-Game Hunting And Land Their Goaltender
Devils acquire: G Jacob Markstrom
Flames acquire: D Kevin Bahl and a 2025 1st round pick (C Cole Reschny)
Date: June 19th, 2024
The Devils had coveted Markstrom for awhile and finally got their guy. So how has he been thus far?
Eh.
Markstrom was fine in his first year as a Devil, posting a .900 save percentage and 3.4 goals saved above expected. But he’s had a slow start to this season with an .870 and -3.1 goals saved above expected. He missed a few weeks with an injury, and
I’m still not sure why the Devils felt the need to rush to get him signed to a contract extension. He’s had one really good start since returning from injury, and his propensity to let in soft goals has become a thing every game where you say to yourself “he’s gotta have that one”.
Markstrom is very much a rhythm goaltender, so we’ll see if he gets into a rhythm as the season goes along and he strings together a few good starts in a row. There’s time for Markstrom to change the narrative, but he has to go and do it. For the most part this season, he has not.
Grade: C+
Minor League Deck Chairs Rearranged
Wild receive: W Graeme Clarke
Devils receive: W Adam Beckman
Date: June 21st, 2024
Two players that were swapped for one another in your classic “This guy can’t break through for us but maybe he’d be better with you” type of deal. Two players who didn’t really do much of anything with their new teams and have already moved on to another organization. At the end of the day, its a harmless deal that doesn’t move the needle one way or another.
Grade: C
Farewell, John Marino
Utah Hockey Club receives: D John Marino and a 2024 5th round draft pick (D Ales Cech)
Devils receive: 2024 2nd round pick (G Mikhail Yegorov) and a 2025 2nd round pick (W Ben Kevan)
Date: June 29th, 2024
John Marino really struggled in his final season in New Jersey, to the point where the Devils decided to look towards the free agency market for a player that might be a better fit. The Devils were linked to Brett Pesce in the days leading up to the free agency and there was simply no room for the both of them. So despite Marino’s struggles, Tom Fitzgerald was able to flip Marino (along with a 5th) for two second round picks, opening up the cap space to sign Pesce in the process.
This deal is a reminder of two things….first, right handed defensemen will be coveted in this league, even if they struggle. Second, if you’re going to trade a veteran to a team, trade him to the team that has done nothing but stockpile draft picks because they might just give you picks.
Not only was Fitzgerald able to move Marino’s salary and easily be able to afford to sign Pesce, he might have also gotten the Devils goaltender of the future out of this deal. Plus Ben Kevan as well. Can’t forget about him.
Grade: A+
A Couple Draft Day Trade Downs
Capitals acquire: A 2024 3rd round pick (#75 overall – W Ilya Protas)
Devils acquire: A 2024 3rd round pick (#82 overall) and a 2024 5th round pick (G Veeti Louhivaara)
Sharks acquire: A 2024 3rd round pick (#82 overall – W Carson Wetsch)
Devils acquire: A 2024 3rd round pick (#85 overall – W Kasper Pikkarainen) and a 2025 6th round pick (W David Rozsival)
Date: June 29th, 2024
The risk with trading back in the draft is that if you’re eyeing someone, you risk losing said player if you move back too far or if someone else you weren’t expecting really likes the player.
Generally speaking though, we don’t know what the Devils draft board looks like. I assume Pikkarainen was always their guy, they dropped back a couple times to pick up some extra draft picks, and they got their guy anyways. I have no idea if anybody here will be anything, but generally, I’m a fan of getting as many darts as you can to throw at the dart board. I like the process, but time will tell us if it pays off.
Grade: A-
Saying Goodbye To Another Failed Lottery Pick
Devils acquire: W Paul Cotter and a 2025 3rd round pick (C Mason Moe)
Golden Knights acquire: W Alexander Holtz and G Akira Schmid
Date: June 29th, 2024
I get why Alexander Holtz is a former 7th overall pick, but at the end of the day, it just didn’t work out. Holtz was billed as a potential sniper in his draft class, and while his shot might’ve been NHL-ready, the other aspects of his game weren’t. He’s not a good skater, he doesn’t do much in the two-way game, and he couldn’t escape Lindy Ruff’s doghouse while he was here. Meanwhile, Akira Schmid was never really able to recapture the magic from his incredible playoff performance against the New York Rangers and needed a change of scenery himself.
Getting it wrong with such a high lottery pick stings. The expectation is that you’re drafting a potential NHL superstar there, and at worst, you’re getting a player who can play in your lineup for a long time. I can’t give Fitzgerald a good grade knowing this since he ultimately signed off on making the Holtz pick (while Ty Smith, for example, was selected by his predecessor)….but what I can do is again point out that at least he knew when it was time to cut your losses and move on before any value went completely in the toilet and that’s what he did here by acquiring a bottom six winger in Paul Cotter and a future third round pick. Getting 40 cents on the dollar when they did is probably better than getting 10 cents on the dollar a year from then.
If its any consolation, Holtz hasn’t really done a whole lot with the Vegas Golden Knights either and he’s looking like a player who will be playing professionally in Europe sooner rather than later. Akira Schmid has looked a little better in a limited role, but they also have Adin Hill signed long-term and they went out and signed Carter Hart to a multi-year deal, so I don’t know what that says about what they think about Schmid long-term.
Grade: C+
I’m Still Not Sure Why Montreal Did This
Devils acquire: D Johnathan Kovacevic
Canadiens acquire: 2026 4th round pick
Date: June 30th, 2024
I don’t quite get why the Habs had no use for a big, right-handed defensive defenseman in Johnathan Kovacevic on a minimal salary contract, but I’m fine taking him off of Montreal’s hands.
Kovacevic was very good throughout most of his debut season in New Jersey. Good enough that Tom Fitzgerald felt the need to sign him to a 5-year deal worth $4M AAV to avoid hitting UFA. Unfortunately, he suffered a lower-body injury in the playoffs and is on LTIR, waiting to make his 2025-26 season debut.
Anytime you can get a defenseman who can kill penalties and play upwards of 20 minutes a night for a mid round pick two years from now, you should probably consider doing it.
Grade: A+
Another Three-Team Trade
Oilers receive: W Trent Frederic, W Petr Hauser, F Max Jones
Devils receive: C/W Shane LaChance
Bruins receive: D Maximus Wanner, a 2025 2nd round pick (C William Moore), and a 2026 4th round pick
Date: March 4th, 2025
The long and short of this from a Devils perspective is that the Bruins wanted to trade Trent Frederic to the Oilers, but the Oilers needed to loop in a third team to retain another 25% of the salary to fit him in.
Having lost Jack Hughes to LTIR days earlier, the Devils used some of that newfound cap space to be a facilitator in this deal, picking up the rights to Shane Lachance for their troubles. Lachance wound up signing his ELC with the Devils and made his NHL debut this past weekend in DC.
Grade: A
Devils Add a Rental Defenseman For the Playoff Push
Devils acquire: D Brian Dumoulin
Ducks acquire: W Herman Traff, a 2025 2nd round pick (previously acquired from Winnipeg in the Tyler Toffoli trade)
Date: March 6th, 2025
I did the writeup on the Brian Dumoulin trade when it happened and while I liked the player and I get that the Devils had literally just lost Jonas Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton to injury, a Devils team that was struggling to score didn’t use excess draft capital to go get someone who could.
Dumoulin was actually pretty good for the Devils, to the point where I’m not sure if they make the playoffs without him, nor do I think they win the one playoff game they did win without him. So in that respect, the trade was fine. But its also a 2nd round pick for a rental defenseman that they were realistically never going to keep on a team that probably wasn’t competing for a championship due to the Jack Hughes injury. Not to mention moving on from a very recent draft pick in Traff.
Grade: B-
Devils Add a Bottom Six Center
Devils acquire: C Cody Glass and W Jonathan Gruden
Penguins acquire: W Chase Stillman, C Max Graham, and a 2027 3rd round pick
Date: March 7th, 2025
The Devils needed center help regardless of the Hughes injury at the time and they got a guy who appears to be a pretty good fit in Sheldon Keefe’s system in Cody Glass, with one caveat.
Glass appears to be made of glass because he’s been banged up a lot.
It’s a shame too, as he has appeared to gel with his linemates regardless of who they are. He is solid in the faceoff circle, and he has a sneaky lethal shot. But he missed time late last season, missed time earlier this season, and will miss more time now as he’s week-to-week.
Grade: B
A Flurry Of Minor Moves At the Trade Deadline
Devils acquire: D Dennis Cholowski
Islanders acquire: W Adam Beckman
Devils acquire: W Daniel Sprong
Kraken acquire: a 2026 7th round pick
Devils acquire: C Marc McLaughlin
Bruins acquire: D Daniil Misyul
Date: March 7th, 2025
In addition to the Dumoulin and Glass moves, Fitzgerald made a series of minor moves to try to give the Devils a little more depth while they played out the season. I lump them all together though as they were more or less inconsequential at the time and didn’t move the needle a ton.
The Devils ultimately re-signed Cholowski and McLaughlin. But the moves in general at this deadline felt a whole lot like Fitzgerald simultaneously trying to clean up the organizational depth chart and move out guys who don’t fit while also giving the Devils a 1% better chance of winning. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t really work.
Grade: C
Who?
Devils acquire: D Tory Dello
Red Wings acquire: Future Considerations
Date: March 14th, 2025
Once again, I have no idea this trade was even a thing or who this player is.
Grade: D
A Salary Cap Dump on the Eve of Free Agency
Devils acquire: D Jeremy Hanzel and a 2025 4th round pick (G Trenten Bennett)
Predators acquire: C/W Erik Haula
Date: June 18th, 2025
The Devils needed to move some salary heading into 2025 free agency, and while one could argue they didn’t go far enough in that direction (
glares in Ondrej Palat’s direction), they did take a step in that direction by moving off the final year of Erik Haula’s contract. Getting two prospects out of the deal when I would’ve been content taking the “future considerations” and moving on is really good work by Fitzgerald.
Grade: A
One More Minor League Swap For the Road
Sharks acquire: C Shane Bowers
Devils acquire: C/W Thomas Bordeleau
Date: July 2nd, 2025
Bowers didn’t really do a whole lot in his two years in the Devils organization. He did make it into 12 NHL games for New Jersey, but he’s really more of an AHL-lifer type than a AAAA player.
Bordeleau, on the other hand, has shown a bit of a scoring touch at the AHL level the last few seasons. He might be another guy who tops out as a callup player in case of injury, but in terms of change of scenery trades, I like this one more than most of the ones Fitzgerald has made.
Grade: B
Swapping One Face Puncher For Another
Devils acquire: W Zach MacEwen
Senators acquire: W/D Kurtis MacDermid
Date: October 3rd, 2025
After MacEwen looked bad in a preseason fight, the Senators apparently decided they needed to get even tougher. Meanwhile, the Devils had just signed Luke Hughes a few days earlier and with the Devils already utilizing LTIR, could stand to save a couple bucks.
Unfortunately for MacEwen, he’s been bitten by the injury bug and will miss some time (again) for the Devils. Supposedly, he’s better at the basic fundamentals of hockey than MacDermid but I’ll have to take everyone’s word for that since we can’t see him play. The only reason this trade gets an A is because Fitzgerald managed to dump MacDermid’s silly contract (that Fitzgerald gave him) off the books for next season as well.
Grade: A-
Final Thoughts
If I count the three-team trades as one deal, Fitzgerald has made 54 trades as Devils general manager.
The good news is that there is no
Martin Erat for Filip Forsberg type of trade there that will haunt Devils fans for the next two decades. The closest thing to that MIGHT be giving up Kevin Bahl as part of the Jacob Markstrom trade, but defensemen are graded differently than scoring wingers are and its not like the Devils don’t have a deep blue line without Bahl. For as much as I was told at the time that Fitzgerald made some fatal error giving up all sorts of players from Yegor Sharangovich to Nikita Okhotiuk to Nate Schnarr, that really hasn’t been the case. Sorry, but I’m not going to lose a ton of sleep giving up on fourth-line types like A.J. Greer or Zakhar Bardakov. You shouldn’t either.
I’d also say that for the most part, Fitzgerald has done well in most of these deals in terms of value. There might be some minor quibbles here and there but I think he generally has a good grasp on what the market is. I also think some of Fitzgerald’s best work has been when they’ve gotten creative. Doing a sign-and-trade with Damon Severson who they weren’t keeping anyways. Getting a prospect in Shane Lachance back for being a facilitator instead of a 4th round pick. Finding teams in a tricky spot with the expansion draft and using that to your advantage, which they arguably did with both Siegenthaler and Graves. These are examples of good GM’ing.
The one recurring negative theme that I’ve picked up on compiling this list is that it sure seems like an awful lot of these deals are cleaning up previous mistakes that he and his braintrust have made. The goalies I’ve acquired previously stink and can’t play so we need to go get another one (or two). The players we drafted stink and can’t play so I need to move on from them before the rest of the league also figures out that they can’t play. The contract I handed out has one more year on it that I really need to get out of so I can turn around and hand that money to somebody else. The cycle continues repeating. No general manager is going to bat 1.000 with personnel moves, but one also wonders that if Fitzgerald weren’t spending so much time fixing previous mistakes, could they be making more deals like the Timo Meier one where they’re pushing their chips in the middle and going for it?
I say all that to say keep this all in mind as the season plays out. The Devils are operating in LTIR and will likely do so all season. Despite all of the injuries and setbacks this team has had thus far, they’re near the top of the Eastern Conference in points. They’ve played well enough where they deserve to be rewarded at the deadline should they remain in contention, and as far as we know, none of the injuries they’ve suffered to this point are of the season-ending variety (knocks on wood because it has been THAT type of year so far).
Fitzgerald has shown some creativity in the past when making trades, and I’m generally ok with him making the call on who to pursue. Hopefully, the team continues to do their part while they navigate a rough patch in terms of health and gives him a reason to go for it this spring.
(@pvtmcbain) November 8, 2025
: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/ubNBwYvuYP
#BeTheTradition pic.twitter.com/ifCbZbZ50O
