NHL insider David Pagnotta reported in yesterday's DFO podcast that recently fired New Jersey Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald appears to be the frontrunner in the Nashville Predators front office hiring search.
David Pagnotta: Re Predators GM search: I think Nashville might be leaning towards the Tom Fitzgerald route - DFO Rundown (4/29)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) April 30, 2026
Fitzgerald served as the Devils GM for five years, before being fired earlier this month after failing to make the playoffs. The former GM is also a Predators alum, serving as the team's first captain in franchise history. His name appeared in previous hiring rumors, but it has since reached an all-time high in the past few days. Fitzgerald's management career is defined by veteran loyalty and failure to properly develop prospects; these are things Nashville has struggled with in recent years and must not repeat.
Rumor confirms that organization is still stuck on loyalty rather than change
Since his hiring in Nashville, GM Barry Trotz gave a lot of respect to his veteran core, rewarding them with a handful of free agency additions, most of which were also aging veterans. Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei added age to a team that desperately needed to get younger. The addition of no-movement and no-trade clauses to these contracts dug the organization into a deeper hole as they now try to escape the realm of mediocrity, being unable to move on from certain pieces for draft capital.
Fitzgerald is notorious for handing out long-term contracts with clauses. Some have ended up well, like Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt; and some aren't looking so hot, like Jacob Markstrom and Timo Meier. Not only is it putting the Devils in a cap hit chokehold, but it is also restricting the development of the young pieces. Guys like Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey struggle to get ice time when there isn't an injury in the lineup thanks to a veteran-loaded defensive core.
This sounds awfully familiar for Preds fans. For years, management restricted the youth to the minor leagues or the bottom six of the NHL roster. This led to the failed development of many promising youngsters like Philip Tomasino, Eeli Tolvanen and Cody Glass. The organization has gotten better at developing the youth since then, but the hiring of Fitzgerald is just repeating history.
Looking at the main idea here, management tends to hire organization alumni. Take Trotz and Andrew Brunette for example; Trotz used to coach the team and Brunette used to play for it. When looking at Fitzgerald, it's an all-too-familiar tale. I'm not saying that organization loyalty is the sole cause of Nashville's failures, but I'm hinting that it might be time to loosen up the ties and explore outside the walls.
It's also wise to maybe look for someone who doesn't have a history of putting their team six feet under. Fitzgerald, while he helped construct a decent team, set the team up for economic stress in the future, and it's even hitting now as it has zero cap space remaining. The Predators have just over $7 million in cap space, and with the mindset of Fitzgerald, that cap space could be gone in a day's worth of free agency signings.
On a positive note, his firing may persuade him to be more lenient on using the team's wallet. With the roster he'll take control if hired, maybe he'll begin to understand why it's important to give the youth a chance at development. He's done a good job at drafting talent, but he just needs to understand the importance of setting them up for success.
However, fans and management must not forget the events that led up to his firing and the impact he's had on the Devils near future.
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