Toronto Maple Leafs: Ranking All 32 NHL General Managers
By Jeff Borsuk
26th Ranked GM – Tom Fitzgerald (New Jersey Devils)
Similar to Adams, the New Jersey Devils have only recently hired their general manager, Tom Fitzgerald. Just like Adams, Fitzgerald is inheriting a mess. Some of that should fall on Fitzgerald’s shoulders since he was around to help set the table before taking the GM job. Fitzgerald has been with the Devils since 2015 working as the team’s Assistant GM. He became the team’s Interim GM in January of 2020 and had the “interim” title removed six months later.
The Good – Recognizing the need for the Devils to make some moves to improve the team for the future, Fitzgerald went into last season’s trade deadline with a mission. It was one he accomplished. He traded Blake Coleman to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Nolan Foote and a first round draft pick in last year’s draft. Fitzgerald used that pick to select Russian defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin.
That same trade deadline, Fitzgerald made another strong move. He dealt Andy Greene to the New York Islanders for David Quenneville and a second-round pick in the 2021 draft. While we have yet to see what Quenneville can bring to the Devils, gambling on him and the prospect Fitzgerald selects with the pick was well worth the trade.
The Bad – While Fitzgerald’s predecessor, Ray Shero, was running the Devils, he had Fitzgerald in his corner for the entire ride. Shero’s is the one who is responsible for the moves made during his tenure but Fitzgerald’s hands aren’t clean from that era. He was a part of the group that traded away a pair of draft picks for Mirco Mueller. Mueller remained with the organization until Fitzgerald was finally able to let him walk in free agency.
The Ugly – Fitzgerald traded for Ryan Murray to be one of their top defensemen this past season. Not only was Murray overpaid, earning $4.6M, but he was also more of a liability for the Devils than he was helpful. The blueline was so bad this year that despite Murray’s underwhelming play, he still was tasked with consuming an average of 18 minutes and 37 seconds of ice time per game.