First, things didn’t go their way. Now, somebody has paid the price and he might not be the only one. 

Despite a strong start to the 2025-26 NHL season, the New Jersey Devils have now been eliminated from playoff contention after the Ottawa Senators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Garden Staters lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 on Tuesday night. 

There’s a lot of blame to go around and team ownership has decided to hold, at minimum, Tom Fitzgerald accountable for the Devils’ underwhelming season. Up until Monday, April 6, 2026, Fitzgerald had been the team’s GM and President of Hockey Ops. Then, on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, he was out of a job (at least for now). There are rumors he could be the next GM in Nashville.

Head Coach Sheldon Keefe is neither safe nor unsafe, but he’s still here and supposedly, he’ll be part of the evaluation process once the season formally ends. “Obviously, (ownership has) got some decisions to make on who the new General Manager, what the leadership of the team looks like and I’ll be a part of that discussion and evaluation,” Keefe told the media Tuesday after his team’s morning skate. “Like I said, it’s not something that I feel good about, the situation that I put, that we put, the team and ‘Fitzy’ in here.”

“For myself, specifically, fundamentally, I believe the coach’s job is to deliver on the vision of the General Manager, on people that put you in a position by showing belief in you,” Keefe continued. “So, we’ve fallen short of that and I take responsibility for that. It’s not a good feeling.”

New Jersey’s players shared that “not a good feeling,” as several of them took responsibility for letting down their now former GM. 

“Obviously, sad for Fitzy and his family,” Jack Hughes told the media Tuesday morning before the team’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. “His family and my family are super close. Lucky, I got to spend all these years with him at the helm. He’s just an unbelievable person. I feel really bad for him. It’s just the way it is now. Fitzy built the team. I think he’s done a pretty good job of that over the years. 

“Most of it comes down to the players. We’re the ones competing every night. We’re the ones that can change the outcome of a hockey game. It’s just frustrating because I’m a big part of this team. I have a lot of love for Tommy Fitz. I’m sad to see him go. I wish we could have done better for him.”

For Hughes, his two injury absences played a big part in the downfall of New Jersey’s season. And even though he’s been playing at the top of his game since the Olympic break, it is, officially, too little too late. 

Captain Nico Hischier also addressed Fitzgerald’s firing when he said, “Fitzy and myself, I can be very thankful for him, what he’s done for me and the development of my career. I was 18 years old. He was assistant GM with Ray (Shero) back in the day. It’s always a bit disappointing. You feel part of it. You understand the business. We’re the guys on the ice. He trusted us. 

“We weren’t performing the way we should have. In business, things like that happen. Yeah, I’m a bit disappointed but understand the business side of it. Still, I’m very, very thankful for him and what he’s done for me.”

Timo Meier echoed those sentiments when he said, “For us coming in today, it’s sad, but we have to be professional. We have five games left that we really want to maximize and a big game tonight that we have to focus on, bring a really good performance here at home.”

Trevor Zegras potted two goals in the first 3:38 of the game (one on the power-play) to put New Jersey in a quick 2-0 hole. 

Cody Glass got the Devils on the board at 12:10 of the first period and cut Philadelphia’s lead to 2-1. Jonas Siegenthaler fired the shot from up high and Glass, battling for position in front of Flyers’ goalie Dan Vladar, deflected the puck into Philadelphia’s net. 

Tyson Foerester negated Glass’ goal early in the second period with two of his own, one each at 2:46 and 4:58, to put the Devils in a 4-1 hole. 

Nick Seeler salted the game away with an empty netter at 17:09 of the third period, thus handing the Devils the final nail in the coffin of their 2025-26 season. 

“I had an Olympic break to process a lot of different things and pretty good idea of where we’re at and where things went,” Keefe said. “But it’s difficult. It’s embarrassing and I don’t like it. I’ve coached for 20 years. It’s the first time I won’t be participating in playoffs, at any level. So, it’s not fun. I’ve never been in a situation like this. But we’ve earned this. So that’s just what it is.”