(Newark) Though thrilled to sign two-time Stanley Cup champion Ondrej Palat on the free agent market, Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald briefly believed star Johnny Gaudreau would return to New Jersey .
Posted at 3:09 p.m.
It did not work. “Johnny Hockey” chose the Columbus Blue Jackets over his home state club, and the Devils turned to Palat hours later, offering him a $30 million, five-year deal.
Fitzgerald expressed no regrets on Friday, giving an update on the first days of the free agent market and the few trades made. Besides Palat, the Devils signed veteran defenseman Brandan Smith and acquired center Erik Haula from the Boston Bruins and goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the Washington Capitals. They join a young team led by Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier.
According to several sources, the Devils have offered Gaudreau a seven-year contract worth more than nine million a year. He accepted a $68.5 contract from the Blue Jackets, averaging $9.75 million per season.
Fitzgerald admitted to dreaming of seeing Gaudreau in the team’s red, white and black uniform. And he had good reason to believe it. He knew the player and his wife. His son played with Gaudreau at Boston College and lodged with Matty Gaudreau, Johnny’s brother.
“I felt like we were a possible destination for him, but I guess other teams were too,” Fitzgerald said. We have done our best. »
When Gaudreau said yes to Columbus, the Devils quickly turned to Palat, who spent his first 10 seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Johnny Gaudreau
Palat has felt all season that the Lightning weren’t going to offer him a new contract because of salary cap restrictions. He therefore prepared himself and his family for this eventuality.
The Czech striker said the Lightning never made him a new contract offer, although the team discussed possible terms and amounts with his agent.
“It just wasn’t working,” Palat acknowledged of the numbers.
Although sad to leave Tampa, Palat said joining the Devils, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2018, reminded him of his early days with the Lightning. It was a young team, at the bottom of the standings, but with a lot of talent. They progressed to a Stanley Cup-winning roster in 2020 and 2021 and made it to the Finals last season before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in six games.
“When you win the Stanley Cup once, you want to win it again,” Palat said. So it’s not like I don’t want to win. I really like the team. And I believe in this team in New Jersey because they are young and they can do something special. »
In recent seasons, Fitzgerald has attracted experienced, hardy players who know how to win. Last year, he signed defender Dougie Hamilton and signed veteran Tomas Tatar, one of the players Palat knows well as a compatriot.
The Devils’ young core made significant strides last season, with Hughes, Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer and Yegor Sharangovich making significant progress.
Vanecek should stabilize the situation in net, as the team has not been spared injuries in this position. She used seven goaltenders last season, with Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier out of action for much of the season.
Fitzgerald also bolstered his coaching staff, adding Andrew Brunette as an associate coach on Friday. A former Nashville teammate, the 48-year-old became the Panthers’ interim coach last season and led them to the league-high 58 wins — a team record. He finished second in voting for the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL’s top coach.
Brunette should help the Devils’ anemic power play, which was fifth-worst in the league last season.
“I think this is a team that’s ready to take the next step,” concluded Fitzgerald.