Fitzgerald talks Devils plan for trade deadline in Q&A with NHL.com

NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with…" runs each Sunday. We talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice.
This edition features New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald.

Tom Fitzgerald is keeping an open mind with the NHL Trade Deadline looming March 21.
"We want to improve; you can never have enough good players at every position," the New Jersey Devils general manager said. "We have a few unrestricted free agents (including forward Jimmy Vesey and defenseman P.K. Subban). I haven't talked to their agents; we're still over a month away. The goal was to approach the trade deadline while fighting for a Stanley Cup Playoff spot."
The Devils (15-25-5) are last in the eight-team Metropolitan Division and have the second fewest road wins (5-14-2) in the NHL, ahead of the Montreal Canadiens (3-16-6). They've had 19 players in NHL COVID-19 protocol this season and carry a six-game losing streak into the All-Star break.
"Is there a hockey trade you could make to not only help your team immediately, but the future?" Fitzgerald said. "Somebody in the age demographic of where we're at with the core of our team. Is there a hockey trade that makes sense for us more long term, but can help jumpstart us now? We're not settled on 'we're too good up the middle' or 'we've got some quality wingers' or 'we've got some good defensemen coming.'"
Now in his second full season as GM, Fitzgerald was excited to see center Jack Hughes represent the Metropolitan Division in the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday but longer-term injuries to goalies Mackenzie Blackwood (heel) and Jonathan Bernier (lower body), defenseman Dougie Hamilton (jaw) and forward Miles Wood (hip) have taken their toll on the team.
NHL.com caught up with Fitzgerald recently to ask him about Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and what he enjoys most in his role as general manager, among other topics.
After selecting Jack Hughes No. 1 in the 2019 NHL Draft, was there ever any consideration given to his playing at least one year of college or major-junior hockey prior to the NHL?
"I would say this. I don't know what private conversations (former Devils GM) Ray Shero had with the agent or the family at that time, but I think the assumption once we drafted Jack was, he would be on our team. You can't change the past. Personally, I think it's easy for people to say, 'Oh, he should have gone to college and gotten stronger because they lift more weights.' That's not necessarily right. I would say the greatest experience Jack had was a lousy experience his first year (2019-20) because it just showed him where our League is at and showed him where he was as an NHL player at a very young age."
Has center Dawson Mercer (No. 18, 2020 NHL Draft) exceeded expectations?
"Yes, plain and simple. We felt he was going to be a versatile 200-foot player who could play up and down the lineup, play the middle, play off-wing, kill penalties and be a Jack of all trades. I didn't expect this production. He plays with some swagger and with confidence and he does 'Wow' things, like stickhandle around guys, chipping pucks in. He has absolutely exceeded my expectations; I thought he'd be in Utica (of the American Hockey League) to be honest."
What has been most enjoyable in your role as GM?
"I've enjoyed the team building part and what we need to add to help us get to where we want to go. I live game to game with the wins and losses. That's the competitor in me. Watching the growth (of the team) right before my eyes and watching them blossom into the players we project them to be when we drafted them ... it's fun and exciting, but never satisfying. Of course, I'd like to be in position to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs right now, but we are one of the youngest teams in the League. That's not an excuse, but I'm looking forward to watching where can we be when these guys really hit their stride."
How satisfied have you been with the play of defensemen Ryan Graves and Jonas Siegenthaler?
"I would say [Siegenthaler] has arguably been our most consistent defenseman. Again, it's probably the fact that he does play a simple game. He defends, moves pucks, blocks shots, is physical. It's doing what he does well on a consistent basis, and he's done that. I think [Graves] has played well. I think he and Dougie Hamilton really turned into a very good pair that we played against other team's top lines, but also be able to move pucks and generate offense from the backend. Ryan has generated more offense from the backend than I anticipated."
What has impressed you most about forward Jesper Bratt, who leads the Devils in goals (14), assists (27) and points (41)?
"He's an elite, lateral skater and I never thought that part of his game could get better, but I think it has. His edge work, his ability to carry the puck through the neutral zone at a high speed and control is just incredible. I've been very impressed with his inside game, and his willingness to touch pucks first. Those are areas we continually work on with a lot of our players. If you want to be productive, you've got to get to the inside. The chemistry with whoever he plays with is always good. Obviously, the magic he and [Hughes] are creating right now is very impressive. He has so much passion for the game and he works on his craft every day and it's paying off."
Who was your favorite NHL player growing up in Massachusetts, and why?
"I was afforded the luxury of the hockey boom in Boston when rinks were going up everywhere because of Bobby Orr. I loved the Boston Bruins growing up. Bobby Orr was just a special player. The way he skated, the way he controlled the game. I wore No. 4 as a little boy because of Bobby Orr. When he retired, I was 7- or 8-years-old, and that's when I started to really watch hockey. I got to tell you, the New York Islanders were one of my favorite teams because of those Stanley Cups and their notoriety. I remember going to my brother's hockey tournament on Long Island in 1977-78 and meeting Clark Gillies ... I took pictures with him. I gravitated towards those teams and really loved watching them. That's why it was so surreal to be drafted by the Islanders in 1986. I also will say the 1980 U.S. Olympic team was very impressionable to me and a lot of U.S. hockey players of my age group. I still know a few of them very well; they were my idols when I was 10 years old. And, of course, I'm talking about the Bostonians. Jack O'Callahan, Dave Silk, Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig. I still have a street hockey goalie mask with the Shamrock on it (similar to what Craig wore in the 1980 Olympics)."
What was it like watching your son Casey Fitzgerald make his NHL debut for the Buffalo Sabres at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 17, 2021? Casey, a defenseman, had an assist, two shots and even got into a fight against the Penguins.
"I'll tell you one thing people don't know because they weren't there, but I have it on video. At the start of pregame warmup, he did two laps by himself and before the Penguins skated out, the public address announcer gave a 'Good luck Fitzy' over the intercom. I was in Pittsburgh (as director of player development or assistant GM) for over nine years, and that was awesome. That was Casey's team growing up. He idolized Sidney Crosby, idolized Kris Letang. He wore number 58 because of Letang. And here I am, watching him in the starting lineup against those two particular players. Right away, he got a shot on net and then just settled in. I just enjoyed it as a dad. Then he got into the fight and I was OK with it, to be honest. He held his own. I've been lucky because he's played four games and I've watched three of them live. The one I didn't attend I sat in a pizza place in Hoboken (New Jersey) and watched the Sabres play the New York Islanders. It was great ... I'm sitting there watching my son play in the NHL. I will say this, each time he's been in the lineup, he's played and looked like an everyday National Hockey League player."