Speculation: The Next GM

[My3Sons]

So with the expansion draft looking maybe a couple of teams will sell low on a number 3 defender to avoid having to expose him to the draft. It would t be perfect but two solid number threes could form a decent top pair while the youngsters percolate. Right now NJ has one defender worth protecting in Severson. PK may be better but his contract and age suggest he can be exposed and the Cthulhus probably pass on him. I imagine whatever forward NJ exposes is probably kore attractive to an expansion team. NJ can protect two more defenders it appears. I’d see if a Wood/Zacha/Butcher type package might return a defensive upgrade. Maybe not but that’s probably what I’d explore in the offseason.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Admittedly, I do all of my draft analysis year of. And when I do, I go all the way back as far as I can for each player. My preferred approach because it prevents early year bias from impacting your assessment the actual year of the draft. So I'd be useless in answering that.

@StevenToddIves would probably have a better perspective for that draft....despite how much we argued about Hughes in the offseason

Ha, I've got a great amount of learning to do before I'm ready to make definitive statements about the 2021 draft class. I do know we can argue about Luke Hughes, who will be eligible that year.

 

[Billdo]

I really wish they remove the interim tag. If he's not going to be the guy going forward, find who is so we can get a new (god no) scouting department in place if Castron and Co are no longer staying. Keep Fitz and Castron.

 

[HBK27]

did fitzgerald make any comments on palms like he did vats? it will be really interesting to see how that plays out. i didn’t want palms traded, but now that we’re in full rebuild mode it doesn’t make much sense to keep him

There was a really good interview with Fitzgerald on NHL Hockey Central Radio on Sportsnet, which was aired on NHL Network earlier this afternoon. I would recommend listening to it.

Asked about if he was open to anything (within reason) between now and the trade deadline, his response was "I sure am".

When pressed and asked about Palmieri and Subban in particular, he said he's not actively shopping any players, but is willing to listen.

He also talked about his job not being to burn this thing down to the group but to keep group competitive and adding "men" to the lineup to support the pillars (Jack, Nico, Blackwood, etc.)

I liked Fitz for the job after Shero was fired (was shocked that Shero was fired at the time though) and hearing more of him these past few days, with what they're looking to do (build around Jack/Nico/Blackwood), I'm 100% convinced he should be the full-time GM. We knew the past few seasons that it was only a matter of time until he received a full-time GM gig somewhere in this league, and I'm surprised it didn't already happen. So, you're already getting a guy that is up-and-coming that probably should've been a GM in this league by now and there's the added benefit that he's been with the team for several years now and knows the organization inside and out and can really hit the group running. Doing well in the trades of Greene and Coleman (an area that Shero generally did very well in that there was some concern where we could see a downgrade) only solidified his spot. I'd be pissed if Fitz doesn't take over as full-time GM at this point.

 

[NJDevs26]

From the Athletic so can't post the whole piece but this stood out

First and foremost, it’s a man’s league. We need men on this team. You can’t just have all kids playing. Things can go south quickly because of the people that they’re playing against, the men on the other team. So, you need a good core of men to surround kids. My goal is through drafting and developing, and we’ve got some young defensemen that we really like coming up, but we’re not going to rush them. I’m going to need some bridge players to continue to help pull this team in the right direction while my young kids are developing. And when they’re ready to play, they’re going to be ready. And that cycle will continue on. There’s an age factor here. I’m not looking to go out and sign 30-year-old plus free agents that may have a shelf life for three to four years. I’m looking to try to add to this team with some of these draft picks I’m trying to accumulate. That’s my goal, it’s easier said than done. But that’ll be my intention come the offseason is try to add via trade or possibly free agency and continue to draft well and have a development plan for all our players.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Damn, I love Fitz’s transparency. Breath of fresh air compared to Lou/Shero.

 

[Spoiled Bratt]

it’s okay to acquire players with picks, it just has to fit the timeline and make sense. The Palms trade was great in this aspect. I would hope we do something like that again when we’re ready.

Who’s going to give us a 23 year old promising youngster for a 1st round pick that will pan out in maybe 3 years?

We lucked out with Palmieri and moves like that are very rare, not the norm.

 

[Davegarri]

Who’s going to give us a 23 year old promising youngster for a 1st round pick that will pan out in maybe 3 years?

We lucked out with Palmieri and moves like that are very rare, not the norm.

Remember the expansion is around the corner, we may be able to pry some players from good teams they don't want to lose for free

 

[Spoiled Bratt]

Remember the expansion is around the corner, we may be able to pry some players from good teams they don't want to lose for free

Not for the picks we’ve been acquiring (aka 1st round picks).

 

[Davegarri]

Not for the picks we’ve been acquiring (aka 1st round picks).

Our Van and Ari picks and what we get for Vats have the possibility of being 2021

 

[None Shall Pass]

After reading the LeBrun article, I have a Fitzboner.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Yeah I'm simply not interested in any other GM candidates, do your due diligence if you need to but the job belongs to Fitz.

 

[Pitaya]

Watching the interview of Fitzgerald last night- really sounded like he is no interim GM.

Hes got plans for the years to come and while thats a GMs job, interim or not, it sounded like he has ownership’s ears

Hes promising development AND progress. If ownership hears they csn compete for w playoff spot AND acquire highly talented youth - how dont they sign Tom?

 

[My3Sons]

Watching the interview of Fitzgerald last night- really sounded like he is no interim GM.

Hes got plans for the years to come and while thats a GMs job, interim or not, it sounded like he has ownership’s ears

Hes promising development AND progress. If ownership hears they csn compete for w playoff spot AND acquire highly talented youth - how dont they sign Tom?

It depends upon why Shero was let go. If it was communication and transparency and collaboration then Fitz is a good candidate. His plan isn’t much different from Shero. If they didn’t like Shero’s plan I’m not sure they will like Fitz’s plan.

 

[Triumph]

Fitzgerald is pretty forthright about the fact that he may not be here, but anyone who gets this job has to look at it the way he's looking at it.

 

[Pitaya]

It depends upon why Shero was let go. If it was communication and transparency and collaboration then Fitz is a good candidate. His plan isn’t much different from Shero. If they didn’t like Shero’s plan I’m not sure they will like Fitz’s plan.

I think there is a difference - at least from the limited interviews we have of Tom so far

Shero was either willing to push with Hall or move a lot of talent and accumulate draft picks. Tom however seems to want to middle between the two - go acquiring roster talent to stop-gap and acquire draft assets.

Plus Hall leaving is likely the biggest reason Shero was let go

 

[My3Sons]

I think there is a difference - at least from the limited interviews we have of Tom so far

Shero was either willing to push with Hall or move a lot of talent and accumulate draft picks. Tom however seems to want to middle between the two - go acquiring roster talent to stop-gap and acquire draft assets.

Plus Hall leaving is likely the biggest reason Shero was let go

NJ has been a decent team post Hynes post Hall in games that MBW has started. The team has numerous flaws - mostly on D - and needs time for Nico and Jack amd MBW to grow a bit, Of Fitz can be honest with ownership and works well with the other voices ownership wants heard I’d like to see him get a chance.

 

[longislanddevil]

I just watched Fitz’ press conference from yesterday following the Coleman and Greene trades. I couldn’t be more impressed with how intelligent, articulate and poised this man comes across.

Both these trades were big “wins” in my book. Getting a 2nd rounder for Greene is terrific value. In fact, I’d rather have the Islanders 2021 2nd than 2020 because there is a reasonable chance it is a much better pick than this year. The bottom could fall out next year for them for all we know. I was definitely not a proponent of dealing Coleman and was convinced I’d be really upset if it happened. The fact I was actually quite surprised and pleased with the return (how could you not like essentially getting 2 first rounders for Coleman...and that it’s Vancouver’s 1st this year, which should be in the 18-22 range), tells me a lot about Fitz. I believe the haul for Coleman is actually better than the one Minnesota got for Zucker. Foote is a superior prospect to Addison and the Vancouver first round pick should be some 8-10 spots higher than Pittsburgh’s.

I have the utmost confidence in Fitz. There is a reason he is so highly regarded league wide. Remove the interim tag already. I’ll be very disappointed and concerned if he is not our GM moving forward. Hire Gallant...and let’s roll!!

 

[Oneiro]

I think the sports world is going to find out what the investing world already has, which is that good culture can elevate the performance of all people in an organization. To a magnitude that's hard to quantify on a short-term basis and easy to see on a long-term basis.

Losing Greene and Coleman makes sense strategically but man, there's quite a bit of re-shaping that needs to be done and not all of it comes down to the names on the roster.

 

[jkrdevil]

NJ has been a decent team post Hynes post Hall in games that MBW has started. The team has numerous flaws - mostly on D - and needs time for Nico and Jack amd MBW to grow a bit, Of Fitz can be honest with ownership and works well with the other voices ownership wants heard I’d like to see him get a chance.

They are I think 6 games below real .500 with the league’s worst underlying numbers.

I don’t think that goes into the GM decision, though I think the coaching recommendations may make it or break it for Fitz. The entire coaching staff needs to be torched.

 

[JelloPuddyPops]

Whomever the next GM is, let’s hope they hire a coach that doesn’t scratch good players in order to play bad ones.

If you’re goal is to build around the Nico, Jack, Black core, then don’t waste time with coaches that think they should play John fricken Hayden (other than if it is due to injury).