Over the last month, we have graded and analyzed every trade that current New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald has made since taking over the reigns full time. Our final edition of the three-part series is below, covering the time period between the 2023 offseason and present day.
You can find part I of the series here and part II of the series here.
2023 Offseason
Trade No. 1
- Devils Acquire: 2023 third-round pick
- Blue Jackets Acquire: Damon Severson
While in a vacuum a third-round pick for Damon Severson isn’t enough, the Devils didn’t have the cap space to bring him back. Therefore, the fact they even got a third for him is great work by Fitzgerald.
Severon signed a massive eight-year contract before playing 67 games for Columbus last season, scoring nine goals and 28 total points. This season, he has eight points cross 17 games while playing top minutes (21:47 average ice time).
The third-round pick was traded just before the NHL draft by New Jersey to Calgary in a deal we will look at shortly. The Flames used the pick on winger Aydar Suniev who put up solid numbers for UMass this past season.
Grade: A
Trade No. 2
- Devils Acquire: Shane Bowers
- Bruins Acquire: Reilly Walsh
This trade was moving out an AHL defender for an AHL forward. Bowers ended up getting some NHL time last season, failing to notch a point in eight games. Bowers has only three points in 13 games for a struggling Utica (AHL) team this season.
Reilly Walsh did not play in the NHL for Boston last year, and had possibly a career worse season in the AHL. Walsh has since moved on to the Kings’ organization, playing for their AHL team in 2024-25.
Overall, a wash of a deal.
Grade: C+
Trade No. 3
- Devils Acquire: 2023 sixth-round pick
- Sharks Acquire: Mackenzie Blackwood
This is another trade that’s just kind of mediocre. The Devils traded a pending restricted free agent who they weren’t going to bring back for a late-round draft pick. The Sharks get a still young goaltender who has some upside.
Grade: C
Trade No. 4
- Devils Acquire: Tyler Toffoli
- Flames Acquire: Yegor Sharangovich, 2023 third-round pick
No matter what you think about how Sharangovich played for the Flames in 2023-24 (31 goals and 59 points in 82 games), he wasn’t going to get the opportunities with the Devils required to score at that rate. Tyler Toffoli was a good Devil at the wrong time (26 goals and 44 points in 61 games). If the Devils weren’t decimated by injuries and plagued by horrid goaltending, the Toffoli deal would have been looked upon at a lot more fondly and realistically.
Not to mention, as a result of Sharangovich’s career-high shooting percentage season (17.3% compared to a 13.8% career average), he parlayed that into a five-year, $28.75 million deal. A deal the Devils would not have been able to dish out and one they should be glad they avoided. Sharangovich, who has seen his shooting percentage tank, only has two points in 11 games in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, the third-round pick was originally Calgary’s and went back to them as previously discussed in the Severson trade.
Grade: A-
Trade No. 4
- Devils Acquire: Colin Miller
- Stars Acquire: 2025 fifth-round pick
Colin Miller may not have lasted long on the Devils, but he was solid when he played, and well worth the fifth-round pick the Devils gave up. The fifth rounder of course has yet to be used.
Grade: B+
2024 Trade Deadline
Trade No. 1
- Devils Acquire: 2026 fourth-round pick
- Flames Acquire: Cole Brady
- Stars Acquire: Chris Tanev
This was an easy high-mark grade for the Devils. New Jersey got a fourth-round pick for basically free. All they had to do was take on a portion of Chris Tanev’s remaining contract using the long-term injured reserve money they had on hand thanks to Dougie Hamilton’s injury.
They also had to give up goaltending prospect Cole Brady who was not even within the top 20 in the organization. Brady was drafted in the fifth round of 2019. After only 12 games and a .907 save percentage in 2023-24 at UMass of the NCAA, he has a .886 save percentage in 2024-25.
Grade: A
Trade No. 2
- Devils Acquire: Kurtis MacDermid
- Avalanche Acquire: 2024 seventh-round pick, Zakhar Bardakov
At the deadline last year, Fitzgerald was looking to make the Devils tougher and that was the first thing he did, acquiring rugged defenseman/winger Kurtis MacDermid.
They didn’t have to give up much, but the fact they gave up more than a seventh rounder drops this trade down a tier. Zakhar Bardakov was a seventh-round pick back in 2021, and after putting up 12 points in 51 KHL games in 2023-24, he has tallied 16 points in 27 KHL games in 2024-25.
The 23-year-old may never actually come over to the NHL. But if he does, based off his point output in 2024-25, maybe he can become a fourth-line contributor.
Grade: D+
Trade No. 3
- Devils Acquire: 2025 second-round pick, 2024 third-round pick
- Jets Acquire: Tyler Toffoli
Based on what was reported prior to the trade deadline, a ton of Devils fans were disappointed with the Toffoli return. However, in the grand scheme of things, if you look back at the returns for other forwards of a similar caliber to Toffoli, a second and third-round pick makes sense. Not to mention, to get Toffoli the Devils only gave up a former fifth-round pick who they were not going to be able to give strong minutes nor retain at his projected price tag (Sharangovich) and a third-round pick they got for moving a pending unrestricted free agent (Severson).
Toffoli got off to a hot start as a Jet, but ended with just seven goals and 11 points in 18 regular season games along with two goals in five playoff games. He then signed a four-year, $24 million deal with the Sharks in free agency.
The Devils used the 2024 third-round pick on Swedish winger Herman Träff. Träff was impressive in the Swedish junior and minor leagues and got 10 games at the SHL level (top professional league in Sweden), where he failed to record a point in 2023-24. However, this year, Träff has six points in 11 SHL games as an 18-year-old.
The 2025 second-round is one of three the Devils have in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
Grade: B
Trade No. 4
- Devils Acquire: Jake Allen
- Canadiens Acquire: 2025 third-round pick
Jake Allen was acquired at a retained price for a conditional third-round pick at what will be remembered as one of the more interesting trade deadlines by a team in recent memory. The Devils didn’t strictly buy or sell, they reloaded.
Allen held a 1.91 goals saved above expected (GSAx) in 13 games as a Devil last season and has another heavily discounted year on his contract. At only a $1.925 million ($3.85 million prior to retention), Allen has posted a .916 save percentage and a 5.06 GSAx across seven games in 2024-25.
So far, well worth the only third-round pick the team gave up. Allen has been extremely valuable to the Devils thus far, and carries a cap hit below $2 million, as negotiated in the trade.
Grade: A
Trade No. 5
- Devils Acquire: 2026 fourth-round pick
- Jets Acquire: Colin Miller
When it came time to flip Colin Miller, he went back to Winnipeg. New Jersey were able to turn a fifth round pick into half a season of Colin Miller and a fourth-round pick. Strong asset management.
Miller only appeared in five games for the Jets in 2023-24 before re-signing (two-year, $3 million extension) there in the offseason and performing well in 18 games 2024-25.
Grade: B-
Trade No. 6
- Devils Acquire: Kaapo Kähkönen
- Jets Acquire: Vitek Vanecek, 2025 seventh-round pick
After a successful first season with the Devils, Vitek Vanecek was horrible in his second season. With still a year left on his contract at over $3 million, the Devils flipped him along with a late-round pick for a goaltender on an expiring contract in essentially a cap dump.
While the plan with Kahkonen was always to let him go at the year’s end, he clearly didn’t care, playing as the best Devils goaltender in a small sample size. Kahkonen had 3.54 GSAx and a .923 save percentage in six games.
Vanecek was injured for the end of last season and was unable to play for them in 2023-24. This season he formed a tandem with former Devil Mackenzie Blackwood and has posted a .899 save percentage in 10 games.
Grade: A
2024 Offseason
Trade No. 1
- Devils Acquire: Jacob Markstrom
- Flames Acquire: Kevin Bahl, 2025 first-round pick
After a mountain of drama surrounding Markstrom and a potential move to the Devils at the 2024 trade deadline, the Swedish netminder was finally moved to New Jersey this past summer. Markstrom has been one of the best goaltenders in the NHL throughout his career. Especially last year, when he was third in the entire NHL in GSAx with a mark of 28.93, only behind Jordan Binnington and Vezina trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck.
Markstrom has two years left on his contract, including this season. The Devils are hoping they can get good goaltending once again with arguably their best netminder since prime Cory Schneider. So far, in 2024-25, Markstrom has posted a .907 save percentage and a -0.11 GSAx.
Kevin Bahl was a second-round pick by Arizona in 2018 and was traded to New Jersey in 2019 as part of the return for Taylor Hall. Bahl made his NHL debut in 2021, but didn’t stick with the team full time until the 2022-23 season. In 2023-24, Bahl played in all 82 games, scoring one goal and tallying 11 points, but playing very solid defense. So far, this year with Calgary, Bahl has struggled mightily, ranking in the ninth percentile in on-ice defensive metrics. He is playing top minutes at over 21 minutes a night.
The first-round pick has not yet been used but is top-10 protected. If the pick falls inside the top 10 of the 2025 draft it will move to an unprotected 2026 first round pick.
Grade: A-
Trade No. 2
- Devils Acquire: Adam Beckman
- Wild Acquire: Graeme Clarke
Beckman and Clarke were each touted as solid prospects at the AHL level for Minnesota and New Jersey, respectively, for some time. Clarke, at his best, has the upside of a middle-six forward, and Beckman, a two-way, bottom-six forward. These projections at the NHL level are what each team needs in the long term.
Beckman, who got a late start due to injury, has six points in eight AHL games for Utica so far this season. Meanwhile, Clarke has two points in six games with Minnesota’s AHL team.
Grade: C+
Trade No. 3
- Devils Acquire: 2024 second-round pick, 2025 second-round pick
- Utah Acquire: John Marino, 2024 fifth-round pick
Given what the Devils gave up (third-round pick and Ty Smith) for Marino, this is a great return on investment. The Devils were preparing to go big on defense in free agency (Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon) and needed to clear some cap first. Marino was the unfortunate casualty.
The second-round pick was used on goaltender Mikhail Yegorov, one of the better netminders in the 2024 draft. The fifth-round pick New Jersey sent over was from the Timo Meier trade and was used on defenseman Ales Cech (currently in the top professional league over in Czechia).
In his two years with New Jersey, Marino played 139 games scoring eight goals and 43 total points. In his first season, he played as one of the better defensive defenseman in the league. He regressed slightly in year two, getting better offensively while being around average defensively. He is projected to play in a top-four role for the new Utah Hockey Club, but has yet to play due to injury.
Grade: B+
Trade No. 4
- Devils Acquire: Paul Cotter, 2025 third-round pick
- Golden Knights Acquire: Akira Schmid, Alexander Holtz
The final trade the Devils made during draft weekend was an interesting one. They flipped two younger players who Fitzgerald seemed to have believed reached their upside with the organization.
Akira Schmid peaked during the 2022-23 season where he came in for Vitek Vanecek during the playoffs and took down the Rangers. However, outside of that magical run, he has largely struggled (.895 save percentage in 2023-24). Alexander Holtz had a decent season in 2023-24, scoring 16 goals in 82 games, but not enough paired with his poor possession metrics. The former top-10 pick will certainly get a better shot in Vegas to succeed.
So far, in 2024-25, Schmid made one appearance at the NHL level, stopping 12-of-12 in relief. In the AHL, he has a .892 save percentage. Meanwhile, Holtz has seven points (one goal) in 17 games, playing only 12:57 of ice time per night. His on-ice metrics are one of the worse in the league.
Paul Cotter was part of the mini-roster overhaul this summer by Fitzgerald to get bigger and tougher. Cotter had 233 hits last season which was second on Vegas only behind Keegan Kolesar. He has continued that type of game in New Jersey, while on pace for a career year. So far, through 21 games, Cotter has 12 points and the sixth-most hits in the NHL. Not to mention, his on-ice impacts are terrific.
Early returns paint this deal as a monumental steal for Fitzgerald.
Grade: A
Trade No. 5
- Devils Acquire: Johnathan Kovacevic
- Canadiens Acquire: 2026 fourth-round pick
The final and most recent trade made by Fitzgerald was with the Montreal Canadiens. Jonathan Kovacevic was brought in to play a depth role on defense this season for the Devils. He was an odd-man out in a Canadiens defensive group that has struggled once again in 2024-25.
Kovacevic was sprung into a top-four role as the team began the season banged up on the blue line. He has since completely derailed the Devils plan on the backend, as he has played so well. Along with Jonas Sigenthaler, Kovacevic has been arguably the best defensive defenseman in the NHL this year. His 99th percentile defensive on-ice metrics further hit home this point.
It is still early, but so far Kovacevic has been a steal, anchoring the best shutdown defensive pairing in the NHL this season.
Grade: A+
Conclusion
You may be thinking, why look back at Fitzgerald’s tenure in this way now? Trades are an extremely important part of roster building, especially for a team trying to snap out of a rebuild. If the Devils are going to be good today, they need to have been successful on the trade market over the past half decade.
So, based on the grades given in this article, how has Fitzgerald done? Check out the chart below:
| Grade | Total |
| A to A- | 12 |
| B+ to B- | 13 |
| C+ to C- | 6 |
| D+ to F | 5 |
As you can see, overall, Fitzgerald has faired extremely well on the trade market since taking over. Over 69% of his deals he has made grade B- or better, which is above average and a third of them can be looked upon as steals (A-to-A- grade).
It is no coincidence that the Devils seem poised for a long run of contending hockey. General manager Tom Fitzgerald has been a large part of making that happen.
Previous Articles:
You can once again find Part I and Part II below: