New Jersey Devils: 5 Contract Situations To Address This Offseason

The New Jersey Devils are going through the motions for the rest of the season. It’s honestly unfortunate how the NHL season has gone. With the pandemic putting so many teams on the bottom of the standings down further because of canceled games and playing without star players, there’s a clear top eight in the Eastern Conference.

In terms of points percentage, the Devils are last in the Metropolitan Division. They have seven more games played than the New York Islanders, so their lead on them is phony. In terms of playoffs, the Devils are 13 points out on the Boston Bruins, who have bridged the gap with the rest of the playoff teams. Playoffs are out of the question. It sucks, but it is what it is.

It’s time to look at the offseason and the big decisions the Devils need to make. Despite the team having another rough season, their fourth really bad season in a row, they still have a ton of talent on the team that needs to get paid.

Well, at least some of them need to get paid. There are big decisions for Tom Fitzgerald this offseason. Their goal was to compete this season. They didn’t. Is it all their fault? No, of course not. Jonathan Bernier is done for the season and never really played at 100%. Mackenzie Blackwood is not having a good season, and he has no safety blanket. Multiple times the Devils have been forced to play fourth and fifth options in net.

On top of the goalie situation, they had a major Jack Hughes injury, another COVID outbreak, a major Dougie Hamilton injury, and other injuries that impact the day-to-day gameplay. There are a lot of huge decisions to make in the offseason, but for now, let’s look at the major contract decisions coming up for Tom Fitzgerald.