Notes on quotes from Tom Fitzgerald

The Devils GM commented on using the 10th overall pick as trade bait, looking for a goaltender, and more.

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New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald spoke with NHL.com at the combine on Monday and had plenty of interesting things to say.

From potentially trading the No. 10 pick to acquiring a goaltender, Fitzgerald touched on a variety of topics.

I recommend checking out the post in full but, in the meantime, I’m going to share my thoughts on a few of the notable quotes from Fitzgerald.

"If we feel it helps us now and in the foreseeable future, then, yes, I'm listening,”

…

“If we can find the right piece to help us get to where we want to go today, tomorrow and wherever the controllable future is for that player, great," Fitzgerald said. "That's the mindset versus 'Great, we have a top-10 pick and this kid is going to be fantastic when he's 25 years old'."

A couple of things here. First, it sure sounds like trading the pick is Fitzgerald’s preference in a perfect world. That’s not to say he will – no matter the noise, high picks tend to stay put more often than not – but there’s certainly an appetite.

The Devils obviously want to be good now and for the long haul. I think they’d rather have a controllable piece in his early to mid-20s as opposed to an 18-year-old who could play in a season or two but may not be a true impact player (aka top-6 forward or top-4 defenseman) for three, four, or even five years.

Controllable is the key term, though. Fitzgerald isn’t going to trade for someone who could walk away in the near future or hold the team at gunpoint for a massive contract that the team would have no choice but to hand out.

Put another way, Fitzgerald is no doubt looking more for a Dylan Cozens type (23 and under contract long-term) rather than a Pavel Buchnevich or Travis Konecny (both a year away from UFA). Don’t get me wrong, Cozens is not available and 10 alone wouldn’t be enough for someone like that. But I think that’s the kind of deal the team would be pursuing.