NHL Rumor Mill – April 8, 2026
What’s next for the Devils after firing general manager Tom Fitzgerald? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
THE LATEST ON THE DEVILS
NHL.COM: Mike G. Morreale looked at five things on the to-do list for the next general manager of the New Jersey Devils.
Among them will be figuring out the defense corps, specifically, where Dougie Hamilton and Simon Nemec fit into their plans. Hamilton has two years left on his contract, and his production improved after being scratched from a mid-January game against the Winnipeg Jets. Meanwhile, Nemec is completing his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent lacking arbitration rights.
New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton (NHL Images).
They must also determine the Devils’ future in goal. Jacob Markstrom, 36, starts his two-year contract extension next season, while 35-year-old Jake Allen is on a five-year deal. However, they must consider strengthening their depth at that position for the future. Nico Daws, 25, is slated to become an RFA with arbitration rights this summer.
Morreale noted the Devils are in win-now mode, and all their free agent and trade acquisitions must be treated as such.
TSN: Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe faces uncertainty after Tom Fitzgerald was fired earlier this week. Hired in 2024, he guided the Devils to the playoffs last season, but they’ve been eliminated from contention this season, partly because superstar Jack Hughes missed five weeks with an injured thumb.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan has been linked to the Devils. Possible management options could include former Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving, and Florida Panthers assistant GMs Sunny Mehta and Brett Peterson.
THE ATHLETIC: Peter Baugh believes determining if Keefe remains as head coach will be among the decisions the next Devils GM faces.
Evaluating the Devils’ core talent will be another decision. Jack and Luke Hughes won’t be going anywhere. Timo and winger Jesper Bratt both have full no-movement clauses for the next three seasons. Finding a way to unlock Meier’s offense will be a priority. They must also improve the Devils’ bottom-six forwards.
Baugh noted that team captain and two-way center Nico Hischier will be eligible to sign a contract extension on July 1. Figuring out his next contract will also be high on that list.
NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: James Nichols believes Hischier was being noncommittal when asked if he would sign an extension under a new general manager.
“I’m focusing on playing hockey here,” Hischier said. “I still have one more year. I’m with the Devils right now, and then we’ll see what happens.”
If there is any hesitancy about re-signing by Hischier, Nicholls believes the next Devils GM must explore trade options. He suggested dangling Hischier to the Minnesota Wild for Quinn Hughes, or to the Ottawa Senators for Brady Tkachuk.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Devils will be a team worth watching this offseason. It’ll be interesting to see who they bring in as general manager, and whether they intend to tinker or make some bold moves.
Hischier’s future will be the biggest decision facing the next Devils GM. The 27-year-old center is among the best two-way players in the league. He has a 10-team no-trade list and a cap hit of $7.25 million for next season.
Teams will line up to acquire Hischier if he becomes available in this summer’s trade market. The Wild and Senators could certainly use him, but it’s doubtful the former will part with Quinn Hughes or the latter with Brady Tkachuk.
Hamilton and Nemec frequently surfaced in the trade rumor mill this season. It’s believed the latter drew more interest given his youth and potential. It’s believed his camp will seek a new contract comparable to teammate Luke Hughes’ seven-year, $63 million contract ($9 million AAV). That would explain why the Devils were reportedly shopping Hamilton ($9 million AAV) last summer.
Hischier is not only the captain but the heart & soul of the Devils. They’d be foolish not to extend him, especially when you consider how often Jack Hughes gets hurt, and there is no other top 6 center available in their prospect ranks (sorry Cody Glass)
I agree. Heart & soul captain – same as Brady Tkachuk in Ottawa. But with Stutzle, Cozens and Pinto in the 1-2-3 C spots, why would Ottawa bring in another C and then have to go looking for some bolstering at the LW position?
Good base of talent in Jersey. A few moves and they should be back in the hunt next season.
NJD are a team that’s hard to figure out, they have the players but the sum doesn’t equal the parts. They should be much better than they are for a few years now.
I’d love to go after Nico Hischier before any other centre who’s name has popped up in the recent past.
Regarding the GM and coaching carrousel in the NHL, it’s lunacy to keep having the same guys get run out of town getting hired to hopefully become saviors. Rarely has a GM or head coach moved on after or while he was having success.
There’s Scotty Bowman obviously and a few others but most of the names we hear are guys who nobody was sorry to see them go.
Hf30 Cassidy will be hired to do just that,be the savior. Fitzgerald is part of the old boy network made up of Boston guys. He will surface next year probably not as a GM but in some hockey capacity!
habfan30, I think what it boils down to in Jersey’s case is that … despite being a .500+ team – they just happen to be in what has turned out to be a crazily competitive Eastern Conference where every one of the 16 teams but one is .500 and up. And the lone exception – the Rangers – are close at .481.
If the Devils were in the Western Conference they’d be in the thick of the WC chase there as well as being in the fight for the third spot in the Atlantic and not that far back of the top position!
Isn’t East v West a bit strange? Can’t have this unless the East, taken as a whole, beats the West pretty consistently, and with the West having a couple of superior teams, the rank and file have borne the brunt. Can’t find a good reason other than the random variability of things, although in a condensed schedule year one might suspect the greater travel load within the west might be having an impact.
For the record Richard, here are the records between Conferences. Pretty decisive in favour of the East overall. And while travel is indeed a factor – especially when it comes to the Pacific Division – it can’t all be traced to that, since those far-eastern teams have to travel as well.
Western Conference vs Eastern Conference
Losing Record:
Van 9-20-3 .328; Chi 8-18-4 .333; Nash 12-17-3 .422; Edm 13-16-3 .453
Split Record:
Calgary 14-14-4 .500; Winnipeg 13-13-5 .500
Winning Record:
Col 20-9-3 .672; Minn 16-11-5 .578;
Ana 16-12-4 .563; Dal 13-10-6 .552;
Utah 16-13-2 .548; Veg 14-11-7 .547;
S.J. 16-14-2 .531; L.A. 14-12-6 .531;
StL 13-12-6 .516; Sea 12-11-9 .516
Eastern Conference vs Western Conference
Losing Record:
NYR 11-15-5 .435
Split Record:
None
Winning Record:
Tampa 23-6-3 .766; Buffalo 20-7-3 .717; Philadelphia 20-7-4 .710; N.J. 22-10-0 .688;
Mtl 21-9-2 .688; Car 18-9-3 .650;
Det 19-10-3 .641; Pitt 16-9-6 .613;
Bos 18-12-2 .594; Ott 17-12-3 .578;
Tor 15-11-5 .565; Wash 16-12-4 .563;
NYI 17-14-1 .547; Clb 16-13-3 .547;
Fla 16-14-2 .531.
Here’s the source for the above – showing more details if interested (StatMuse):
https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/nhl-eastern-conference-vs-western-conference-head-to-head-record
https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/nhl-western-conference-vs-eastern-conference-record-this-season
I look at the Devils and see meh.
Last year they got in, but the East was a little like the West is this year. NJ got in with 91 pts and in the West you needed 96.
The year before they missed the post season.
What I see is a team that has been somewhere between crappy and mediocre for the last 6 or 7 years, with an outlier season in 22/23.
Not sure who Morreale is, but to suggest they are in win now mode seems a bit out there IMO. What about their play over the last 2 years suggests they are anywhere near “win now” mode. Pipe dream.
Nothing to see in NJ, and if Hischier has a goal to win a cup, he may want to move on.
A team like TB would line up against those guys for 7 games and roll them in 5 or less.
Ray, in terms of the so-called “loser point,” lack of success in that category has cost the Devils big time this season. Their current 3 points there puts them dead last in the Conference, with Florida (4) and NYI (5) joining them on the outside looking in. Compare that to Pittsburgh’s 16 loser points and where they stand today. If they were just at the Eastern average of 9 in that category, they’d be sitting with 89 points and right in the last-gasp push for a playoff spot.
But probably the biggest single factor in their struggles this season is their 219 goals scored. Which puts them dead last in the Conference, with the closest to them being the NYI (226), Detroit (228) and NYR (229).
And yet here they are 22-10-0 .688 in head-to-head games against Western Conference teams. Any doubts that the East, as a whole, is stronger than the West is shattered by the records posted above.
Morreale is not the originator of the “win now” comment. That came from one of the Devils owners, Blitzer, I think, at a news conference following GM TF’s separation. But I agree, they are not going to “win now.”
The CFL has a crossover, the NFL rarely has the two best teams in the Super Bowl, MLB the two best don’t get out of the conference finals before the WS.
With the amount of teams the only way to go is div 1 and div 2 with team relegation and promotion ans a playoff with less brackets….and that’s not happening.