Devils Went Down to Wire on Big Name in Final Deadline Moments

After the 2025 NHL trade deadline had come and gone, it was clear the New Jersey Devils weren’t going to add a big name. The team did add, but no one fans would peg as a significant difference-maker and certainly not someone the caliber of Jack Hughes. General manager Tom Fitzgerald reflected on his team’s aggressive push to strengthen the roster, and missing out on a player they went down to the wire on. Despite being linked to high-profile names like Mikko Rantanen and Ryan O’Reilly, the Devils ultimately fell short of adding whoever it was they were going after.

Here’s the clip of Tom Fitzgerald talking about the center he “came in second” on

Also mentioned later it was not a rental, so process of elimination says it was either Cozens, Laughton or Mittelstadt

My gut tells me Laughton tbh but who knows pic.twitter.com/tgaurXAwkD

— Devils Red Alert (@DevilsRedAlert) March 7, 2025

Fitzgerald wouldn’t reveal the player he was after when he spoke with the media. However, reports indicated that Fitzgerald had been eyeing a long-term acquisition rather than a short-term rental. Leading speculation is that he’d been chasing either Scott Laughton, Dylan Cozens, or Casey Mittelstadt. He says he got close, but ultimately that player went to another team.

“We tried hard on certain players… Some players were traded for big-time assets, and some re-signed with their teams,” Fitzgerald said.

What Did the Devils Add at the Deadline?

The Devils did manage to add depth at both forward and defense, acquiring Brian Dumoulin, Dennis Cholowski, Cody Glass, and Daniel Sprong. The hope is that they’ll help in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race push.

Fitzgerald explained that it was close, and it was painful to lose out, but that’s the way things go sometimes. He noted, “You are in a fight into the 12th round… It was a split decision. A player went to a different team. It was difficult, but that happens. You win some, you lose some.” He did that one of the players he was chasing was on his radar regardless of Jack Hughes’s injury.

It remains to be seen whether Fitzgerald’s performance was enough. Some teams in the East got a lot better on Friday, and that will make life a lot more difficult for the Devils. The fact they finished as runners-up in their biggest trade pursuits might be an indication of how the rest of the season might go. They still have a good time, but it might be second-best to some of the bigger contenders out there.

Next: Oilers’ GM Says He Tried “Big Swing” at Deadline: Rantanen?