Fitzgerald Lands His Man | FEATURE

Tom Fitzgerald got his man.
The Devils have had their eye on forward Timo Meier since, well, last season.
"Our radar in the hockey ops department is quite some time," the Devils general manager said. "Going back to last year we inquired about Timo, but here we are. The process took months. You start planting seeds and then the seeds turn into trees and start growing. Then you go 'this is getting serious now, and we might have a chance.'
"It takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of effort. I have to thank (general manager) Mike Grier of the San Jose Sharks, his patience with the process, understanding how these things get pushed over the goal line. We may have been sitting in the red zone for quite some time, but we finally got it over the goal line."

Aside from Meier, over the goal line was Scott Harrington, Santeri Hatakka, Timur Ibragimov, Zachary Emond and a 2024 fifth-round pick. The Devils dealt their 2023 first-round pick (conditional), Fabian Zetterlund, Andreas Johnsson, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Nikita Okhotiuk, 2024 second-round pick (conditional) and 2024 seventh-round pick to San Jose.
But Meier is the crown jewel, a three-time 30-goal scorer in the NHL. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound forward already has 31 tallies this season through 57 games. Last year, he set career highs with 35 goals, 41 assists and 76 points.
"He's a big body that can score goals, protect pucks, he can play physical," Fitzgerald said. "We've seen him drop the gloves in the past. He stands up for himself. It's an addition that, we want to get bigger, but we want talent. We want power forwards. And you have to go out and grab those. When an opportunity happens like this, we're doing our best to strike. That's for sure."
The Devils have now struck twice in as many seasons. Two years prior, New Jersey landed defenseman Dougie Hamilton - the most sought-after unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2020. Now, they've landed the highest-rated player on the trade deadline market.

"When you're competing with other teams vying for the service of these individuals, the anxiety level spikes a bit," Fitzgerald shared. "The lows come into play as well. Social media, you read, I stay off it for that reason only.
"It's definitely different than the last couple of deadlines that we've had. So, this is a great feeling."
In previous seasons, the Devils were sellers at the deadline, trading aging assets for young assets as the club built for a competitive future. That competitive future came fast and furious this season. New Jersey is in third place in the entire NHL with a 39-15-5 record for 83 points.
With a solid structure and team built around captain Nico Hischier, superstar Jack Hughes, Hamilton, Jesper Bratt and more, the Devils have become buyers, adding missing pieces as they push for a playoff position and Stanley Cup run.
"The team play dictated what we were going to do on deadlines in the past. The opposite happened here," Fitzgerald said. "Here we are third overall in the league. When you acquire players to help your team improve in certain areas, it's a big boost. I know this personally, it's a big boost for the locker room. I would like to think when you add something like this to your locker room, it's an enormous boost and confidence.
"The players told me where they were. No different than in the past where we were and what we were going to do. We weren't buyers in the past."
Meier, a left-hand shot, wasn't just a move for now. It was also a move for the future.
"The most important thing, he's 26 years old. Being able to grow together is vital," Fitzgerald said. "When you can add a talent as young as Timo is to the group that we have and as young that we are and the path that we're on is super exciting."
Meier's contract expires at the end of the season, but he will be a restricted free agent. Fitzgerald is confident a deal is there to be had.
"We'll start at some point to try to ink his name to a long-term deal," he said. "I do believe New Jersey will sell itself. I think he will love it here. I think he will thoroughly enjoy it and want to stay here. That's my bet."

As far as expectations for now, Fitzgerald just wants Meier to do what he does.
"There's no pressure on Timo Meier to come in and be anything different than what he is, just come in and be yourself," he said. "Integrate yourself with the group. Be part of it. Be part of the fabric and production, I don't care. Just come in and play hard, compete, follow directions and your talent will take over."
Meier doesn't just bring with him immense talent, but also playoff experience having appeared in 35 postseason contests in his career for the Sharks. And he knows what it takes to win and compete when the stakes are at their highest.
"When you look at your roster and you're trying add talent, we want to get bigger up front in certain areas," Fitzgerald said. "Playoff hockey is a different animal. It really is. The war of attrition. The little battles, the net-fronts, the corners, the dirty areas, that's real. Refs put their whistles away. Elbows are a little higher, a little sharper. Just being able to sustain that as a player, bringing somebody in with experience is something we really wanted to add and help educate our group."
Meier is only the most recent player acquired by Eastern Conference teams to bolster their rosters. Several teams have added players in the past few weeks: New York Rangers (Vladimir Tarasenko), Toronto (Ryan O'Reilly), Boston (Dmitry Orlov), New York Islanders (Bo Horvat). While the rest of the competition have been adding to their teams, the Devils joined the fray on the talent arms race.
"I was just doing what was best for the New Jersey Devils, not reacting to what the Rangers did or may do again, what the Islanders did," Fitzgerald said. "I'm not a reactionary general manager or person. I'm very thorough and try to think things out and stick to a game plan, maybe deviate here and there."
Fitzgerald also indicated that the Devils aren't necessarily done making moves to improve their team. With the NHL's trade deadline falling on Friday , March 3, New Jersey has a few more days to test the trade market.
"My staff is coming in tomorrow. My pro guys are coming in, my personnel guys are coming in. We're going to really start looking at our roster," Fitzgerald said. "Where can we add some depth. Where are areas we believe we can add depth.
"We're continuing to look at how we round out our roster, how we round out our personnel, what do we need? This is a lot different than the last couple, so this is fun."
The last couple years have seen the Devils moving in a different direction, building for the future and not the present. The Devils have come a long way in their rebuilding process. And the team is now ready to take the next step as a franchise. Though not official, a playoff spot is near likely, which would be just the second postseason berth in the past 11 years for the team. The patience of the organization is finally paying off.
"We have to thank David Blitzer and Josh Harris for allowing us to go out and do this," Fitzgerald said. "They really understand the strategy and picture we wanted to paint for our team and how we were going to get there. It's adding players like Dougie. I got the green light to do that. It's adding players like (Ondrej) Palat. Bringing in guys like Tomas Tatar. Signing Jack and Nico, and Jesper will be next. Being able to add this guy and hopefully get him tied up long term. It feels great so I thank them."
It's been a long process, and even the fans have expressed their patience. Though they did chant Meier's name in recent home games, urging their general manager to bring the Swiss forward into the Black and Red.
"I heard them loud and clear," Fitzgerald smirked. "I understand who they wanted. It's great when it aligns with the hockey ops department, who we want. This is something they deserve. Not only players, but our fanbase deserves this excitement.
"I know our team believes we have a championship-caliber team, whether it's this year or moving forward. We have the right pieces. We'll continue to build and put the right pieces in place. This move, the fans deserve this."
Of course, the trade didn't come together over night. It was a marathon with ups and downs. But in the end, the payoff was worth it.
"You identify the talent and identify teams that may be in a situation where they may want to sell and get out of some contracts, understanding their own personal situation and where they're at," Fitzgerald said. "There's never any guarantees when you start the process of building the framework of a deal. The goal posts move forward, sideways, but at the end of the day when you talk about a player like this, the assets that are going out are going to be missed, but you need to give to get.
"We really wanted to land Timo Meier."
And land him, they did.