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The Summer of Fitz

Written By Neil Villapiano



It is clear to say that New Jersey Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald has had quite an impactful offseason to this point. He has locked up two more pieces of the team's core long-term and added another scorer to the team's top 6. In addition to those moves, the Devils' GM has been able to bring back two valuable parts of the team's fourth line. While the goaltending is still somewhat of a question mark, the team is pretty much set and is poised to make a run at the Stanley Cup this upcoming season and beyond. Let's recap what the man in charge of New Jersey has done up to this point.


Securing Timo Meier's Future with a Long-Term Contract

After re-signing Jesper Bratt, Fitzgerald's next major task was to re-sign the man the team acquired in a massive pre-trade deadline move in the form of Timo Meier. After grinding it out for just under two weeks, the two sides made it official. On June 28th, the Devils officially re-signed the Swiss native to an 8-Year, $70.4 million contract beginning in the 2023-24 season. It also carries an AAV of $8.8 million, making him Meier the highest-paid forward on New Jersey's roster. Jack Hughes is now the second highest with an AAV of $8 million.

The fact that Fitzgerald was able to get Timo signed long-term and under $9 million is another tremendous job by him. It also shows that players are willing to take less to stay in Jersey rather than go out on the open market. The Devils have become a destination place where big names players like Meier want to be.


Re-Signing Nate Bastian and Michael McLeod

The next move was getting two-thirds of the BMW line back in the fold. After not qualifying either of them and allowing the two to test free agency, the gamble paid off. On the first day of free agency on July 1st, the Devils re-signed both Nate Bastian and Michael McLeod to contracts. For Bastian, it was a 2-Year, $2.7 million deal. As for McLeod, he gets a 1-Year, $1.4 million contract.


In Bastian, the Devils are keeping a guy who not only brings energy but isn't afraid to bang the body and stand up for his teammates. With losing big-framed guys like Miles Wood and Ryan Graves to other teams, the Devils had to keep some of their physicality in the fold. Michael McLeod gets a 1-Year deal so that he can become an RFA after this season, making it easier to sign him for a longer deal later. The man they call, "Motor Mike", has established himself as a great penalty killer and a dominant faceoff man. He finished last season with the third-highest faceoff win percentage in the entire league.


It's important to not only build your top-9 but also establish the bottom-6.


Acquired Colin Miller from the Dallas Stars

New Jersey lost a ton of man games on the back end with Damon Severson and Ryan Graves departing for new teams. Even though the team has young, talented prospects like Luke Hughes and Šimon Nemec, it's clear that Fitzgerald wanted to add some more veteran security. He did just that on July 1st by acquiring Colin Miller from the Dallas Stars for a 2025 5th-round pick. Miller brings a ton of experience not just in the regular season, but also in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 40 games, four goals, and twelve points.

Miller (30), is a two-way defenseman that can move the puck well in transition. He has one year remaining on his contract at a cheap $1.85 million. He comes into New Jersey with the expectation of competing for the 6th and 7th defensive spots with Nemec and Brendan Smith.


Signed Goaltender Erik Källgren

The Devils brass did indeed bring in another goalie. It just wasn't one that people were expecting. On the first day of free agency, the Devils signed 26-year-old Goalie Erik Källgren to a 1-Year, two-way contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level and $450,000 at the American Hockey League level. He spent parts of the last two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and posted a career 11-6-5 record since 2021-22. He appeared in 10 games last year with Toronto and recorded a 3-2-4 record with a 2.67 GAA and .898 save%.


He comes in bringing depth to the goalie position at both the NHL and AHL levels. With Nico Daws out until at least late December after off-season surgery, the Devils needed to find at least one goalie to handle the load until Daws is back. Akira Schmid may start the year down in Utica either alongside Källgren while the Devils look for another goalie (Hellebuyck?) or have Källgren back up Vitek Vanecek to start the season. Either way, it's good depth between the pipes to have.


Tom Fitzgerald took the GM of the Year snub personally and improved his team a bunch. They not only have become cup contenders for the 2023-24 season but for many seasons to come. It's an exciting time to be a New Jersey Devils fan and things are only gonna get better from here.



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