In 2015, Tom Fitzgerald joined the New Jersey Devils organization as an assistant general manager. In 2020, he was then named interim followed by a full-time tag after the firing of former general manger Ray Sharo. Since that time, Fitzgerald, along with the ground work laid by Shero, has completely rebuilt a once-proud Devils franchise that was in the gutter. In doing so, Fitzgerald has made several trades since first joining full time in 2020.

From the first move he made at the 2020 trade deadline to his most recent moves this offseason, let’s take a look at each more.

Note, the below grades takes into account both the circumstances at the time and what the package the Devils got ended up being.

2020 Trade Deadline

Trade No. 1

• Devils Acquire: David Quenneville, 2021 second-round pick
• Islanders Acquire: Andy Green

Fitzgerald’s first trade as interim general manager of the Devils was moving the team’s captain to their division rivals the New York Islanders. In return, they acquired AHL defenseman David Quenneville, brother of Devils draft pick Johnathan Quenneville. The former seventh-round pick played 10 games between two seasons for the Devils AHL affiliate before moving to the SHL in 2021-22.

He also got a second-round pick in 2021 in this deal which was flipped for Ryan Graves in the summer of 2021. Graves played 153 games over two seasons with the Devils recording 14 goals and 54 total points.

Grade: B-plus

Trade No. 2

• Devils Acquire: Nolan Foote, 2020 first-round pick
• Lightning Acquire: Blake Coleman

Later in the same day as the Greene trade, Fitzgerald traded another fan favorite in forward Blake Coleman. At the time, the return was hailed as one for the ages and one he certainly had to make to fully help commence the Devils’ rebuild. Now, it’s good, but nothing special.

The first-round pick was used on defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin. The Russian didn’t turn into anything for the Devils, only playing three playoff games for their AHL affiliate, but was a key piece in landing Timo Meier at the 2023 NHL trade deadline.

Nolan Foote has bounced around between the NHL and AHL for the Devils. Foote has played 138 AHL games, scoring 44 goals and 90 total points. At the NHL level, he has scored six goals and eight points in 23 games. Foote is currently with the Devils’ AHL affiliate the Utica Comets.

Meanwhile, Coleman has gone on to spend the last four years with Calgary after spending a year-and-a-half with Tampa Bay, winning two Stanley Cups.

Grade: B-

Trade No. 3

• Devils Acquire: 2021 fifth-round pick
• Sabres Acquire: Wayne Simmonds

Wayne Simmonds was signed to a one-year, $5 million deal in the summer of 2019 in the hopes that the Devils would be in playoff contention. They were not and so Simmonds was shipped off to the Sabres at the 2020 trade deadline. The veteran power forward played seven games in Buffalo before leaving in free agency.

The fifth-round pick in 2021 was Topias Vilen who came over to north America full time last season and put up solid numbers in the AHL. He looks like an intriguing prospect.

Grade: B-

Trade No. 4

• Devils Acquire: Zane McIntyre
• Canucks Acquire: Louis Domingue

Louis Domingue was acquired from the Lightning by former general manager Ray Shero in the fall of 2019. Fitzgerald tried to get any value he could for the veteran goaltender at the 2020 deadline and did so by acquiring a proven AHL goalie for the Binghamton Devils’ playoff push. McIntyre was great in the minors, but never played an NHL game for New Jersey.

Grade: C

Trade No. 5

• Devils Acquire: Janne Kuokkanen, Fredrik Claesson, 2020 third-round pick
• Hurricanes Acquire: Sami Vatanen

Sami Vatanen was seen as one of the Devils bigger trade chips at the deadline, and the Devils got a decent haul for him at the time. Fredrik Claesson was only there to fill a roster spot for the remainder of the season, but Janne Kuokkanen was a fairly highly-touted prospect at the time. The former second-round pick scored at a half-point per game click during his rookie season in 2021, but failed to produce at the same rate his sophomore season which resulted in the young winger being bought out.

The third-round pick ended up being Nico Daws, who came into the NHL just a year later. In 46 career games Daws holds a 19-22-1 record with an .894 save percentage.

Those two have provided solid value for Vatanen who played seven playoff games for Carolina, none in the regular season as he nursed an injury, before returning to New Jersey the following season. Basically, the Devils got the three assets above for seven playoff games of Vatanen, while still getting him the next season after re-signing him in unrestricted free agency.

Grade: B

2020 Offseason

Trade No. 1

• Devils Acquire: Ryan Murray
• Blue Jackets Acquire: 2021 fifth-round pick

Ryan Murray was a much needed veteran presence on the Devils blue line when he was acquired in the fall of 2020. While he wasn’t anything special, playing decent defense along with 14 points in 48 games, a fifth-round draft pick is still solid value.

Grade: B-

Trade No. 2

• Devils Acquire: Andreas Johnsson
• Maple Leafs Acquire: Joey Anderson

The grade of this trade all depended on if Joey Anderson hit for the Maple Leafs and luckily for the Devils he didn’t. Anderson played a cup of coffee in the NHL with Toronto before being shipped off to the Blackhawks in a trade for Jake McCabe. The former third-round pick finally got the chance to crack an NHL roster last season with Chicago. He played in 55 games scoring 17 points.

Johnsson had a poor first year in New Jersey before rebounding in his second year to the tune of 35 points in 71 games. In 2022-23, he failed to crack a very deep Devils roster and was traded in the Timo Meier deal at that trade deadline. Johnsson spent last season in the SHL playing for Skelleftea AIK.

Bottom-line, the Devils got a heck a lot more out of Johnsson than the Leafs did of Anderson.

Grade: B

2021 Trade Deadline

Trade No. 1

• Devils Acquire: A.J. Greer, Mason Jobst, 2021 first-round pick, 2022 fourth-round pick
• Islanders Acquire: Travis Zajac, Kyle Palmieri

Zajac and Palmieri were both long-time Devils and fan favorites. However, for what the Devils were able to get at the time, they both had to go. Zajac tallied a goal and an assist in 13 regular season games and a goal and an assist in 14 playoff games for the Islanders. 

Palmieri had a disappointing first few years with the Islanders after extending with them for four-years at $5 million per season. In year three of his new contract, however, Palmieri bounced back to the tune of 30 goals and 54 points in 82 games. It was his first time reaching the 30 goal mark since 2015-16 with the Devils.

The Devils return has disappointed thus far. A.J. Greer played 10 games with the Devils scoring a goal and an assist before moving on. Mason Jobst never reached the NHL level with New Jersey. The fourth-round selection turned into an interesting prospect in Daniil Orlov. However, the Devils seemed to have blundered the first-round pick, selecting forward Chase Stillman. In his first professional season last year, Stillman scored 14 goals and 24 total points in 54 AHL games. He also disappointed in the OHL after being drafted, failing to notch a season better than a point-per-game.

Fitzgerald gets a bump for the value he got at the time, however, the package he got unfortunately has not worked out.

Grade: D-plus

Trade No. 2

• Devils Acquire: Jonas Siegenthaler
• Capitals Acquire: 2021 third-round pick

While the Devils were sellers at the 2021 trade deadline, they also took advantage of the Capitals defensive logjam. Young defender Jonas Siegenthaler was acquired on a buy-low deal that has paid off for the most part.

After a successful first full season in New Jersey Siegenthaler signed a bargain contract for five years at $3.4 million. While he did have a down year last season, his play the two years prior on the defensive side of the puck have made this trade well worth it. Early on, in 2024-25, Siegenthaler looks much more the part he did when he was playing as one of the best defensive defensemen in the NHL.

After a few trades, the third-round pick ended up with the Rangers who drafted center Ryder Korczak. Korczak played well at the junior level, but struggled in his first full season of professional hockey this past year.

Grade: A-

Trade No. 3

• Devils Acquire: 2022 fourth-round pick
• Oilers Acquire: Dimitry Kulikov

The fourth-round pick in the above deal had a condition related to the Oilers playoff success which they did not meet. The Oilers were in fact swept in the first round which did not trigger the clause. Kulikov collected a couple assists in 13 regular season and playoff games for the Oilers before leaving in free agency.

The fourth-round pick was used on defenseman Charlie Leddy who has scored 15 points in 74 games at Boston College over the past two seasons.

Grade: C-

Up Next

Part two of the series will be dropping on Tuesday, October 29.