Tom Fitzgerald (ice hockey)

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For The Boston Globe ice hockey journalist, see Tom Fitzgerald (journalist).

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Tom Fitzgerald
Tom Fitzgerald 2012-06-22.JPG
Fitzgerald in 2012
Born (1968-08-28) August 28, 1968 (age 55)
Billerica, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for New York Islanders
Florida Panthers
Colorado Avalanche
Nashville Predators
Chicago Blackhawks
Toronto Maple Leafs
Boston Bruins
National team  United States
NHL Draft 17th overall, 1986
New York Islanders
Playing career 1988–2006

Thomas James Fitzgerald (born August 28, 1968) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. He currently serves as the general manager and executive Vice President of the New Jersey Devils. He won the Stanley Cup in 2009 as a director of player development with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Playing career

Fitzgerald played his high school hockey at Austin Preparatory School in Reading, Massachusetts, he then went on to play college hockey for Providence College and was selected by the New York Islanders of the NHL in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft (1st round, 17th overall). He turned pro in 1988 with the Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate Springfield Indians, and in 1990 was one of the key players who led Indians to the Calder Cup championship.

He played parts of five seasons for the Islanders and became the first player in NHL playoff history to score two shorthanded goals on the same minor penalty, against the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 2, 1993, which also equaled the NHL record for shorthanded goals by a player in one game. He was selected as one of the original Florida Panthers in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. Although he has been cast as a defensive forward in the NHL, he had his best scoring years in Miami and was one of the leaders in Florida's 1996 Stanley Cup run. In those 1995–96 playoffs, Fitzgerald scored the decisive goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a 58-foot slapshot that found its way past Penguins goaltender Tom Barrasso.

He was briefly traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 1998 before being drafted in another expansion draft, this time by the Nashville Predators, who sought out his veteran leadership. Fitzgerald was named Nashville's first captain, serving in the capacity for four seasons. He subsequently played for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had signed with the Maple Leafs to a two-year contract on July 18, 2002.[1] While with Toronto, Fitzgerald and his Maple Leafs teammate Gary Roberts both played in the 1,000th game of their careers on January 13, 2004.[2]

In the summer of 2004, Fitzgerald signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins. In July 2006, the Boston Bruins chose not to renew his contract. He announced his retirement after 17 NHL seasons on September 12, 2006.[3]

Executive career

In July 2007, Fitzgerald left NESN when he was named Director of Player Development for the Pittsburgh Penguins.[4] In October, he was then named as an assistant coach for the United States national team for Deutschland Cup, helping push them to second place.[5] On July 3, 2009, Fitzgerald was then promoted within the Penguins organization to assistant general manager.[6] On July 24, 2015, Fitzgerald was named assistant general manager for the New Jersey Devils.[7] On January 12, 2020, Fitzgerald was named interim general manager of the Devils' after Ray Shero was fired.[8] On July 9, 2020, Fitzgerald was named Executive Vice President and full time General Manager of the Devils.

Personal life

Tom and his wife Kerry have four sons; Ryan, Casey, Jack and Brendan.[9] Fitzgerald did a stint as an analyst for the Outdoor Life Network during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, and was one of NESN's studio analysts during postgame coverage of Boston Bruins' matches.[10] His son Ryan was drafted in the fourth round (120th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins, and currently plays for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Philadelphia Flyers's AHL affiliate. Casey, who was drafted in the third round (86th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, currently plays for the Rochester Americans, the Sabres' AHL affiliate. Both Ryan and Casey attended Boston College, skating on the same roster from 2015–2017.

Fitzgerald grew up with his cousin, NHL player Keith Tkachuk.[11] He is also cousins with Tkachuk's sons Matthew of the Florida Panthers and Brady of the Ottawa Senators, as well as Kevin Hayes of the Philadelphia Flyers and the late Jimmy Hayes, who most recently played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1984–85 Austin Preparatory School HSMA 18 20 21 41 — — — — — —
1985–86 Austin Preparatory School HSMA 24 35 38 73 — — — — — —
1986–87 Providence Friars HE 27 8 14 22 22 — — — — —
1987–88 Providence Friars HE 36 19 15 34 50 — — — — —
1988–89 Springfield Indians AHL 61 24 18 42 43 — — — — —
1988–89 New York Islanders NHL 23 3 5 8 10 — — — — —
1989–90 Springfield Indians AHL 53 30 23 53 32 14 2 9 11 13
1989–90 New York Islanders NHL 19 2 5 7 4 4 1 0 1 4
1990–91 Capital District Islanders AHL 27 7 7 14 50 — — — — —
1990–91 New York Islanders NHL 41 5 5 10 24 — — — — —
1991–92 Capital District Islanders AHL 4 1 1 2 4 — — — — —
1991–92 New York Islanders NHL 45 6 11 17 28 — — — — —
1992–93 New York Islanders NHL 77 9 18 27 34 18 2 5 7 18
1993–94 Florida Panthers NHL 83 18 14 32 54 — — — — —
1994–95 Florida Panthers NHL 48 3 13 16 31 — — — — —
1995–96 Florida Panthers NHL 82 13 21 34 75 22 4 4 8 34
1996–97 Florida Panthers NHL 71 10 14 24 64 5 0 1 1 0
1997–98 Florida Panthers NHL 69 10 5 15 57 — — — — —
1997–98 Colorado Avalanche NHL 11 2 1 3 22 7 0 1 1 20
1998–99 Nashville Predators NHL 80 13 19 32 48 — — — — —
1999–00 Nashville Predators NHL 82 13 9 22 66 — — — — —
2000–01 Nashville Predators NHL 82 9 9 18 71 — — — — —
2001–02 Nashville Predators NHL 63 7 9 16 33 — — — — —
2001–02 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 15 1 3 4 6 5 0 0 0 4
2002–03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 66 4 13 17 57 7 0 1 1 4
2003–04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 7 10 17 52 10 0 0 0 6
2005–06 Boston Bruins NHL 71 4 6 10 40 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,097 139 190 329 776 78 7 12 19 90

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1987 United States WJC 4th 7 3 0 3 2
1989 United States WC 6th 10 0 2 2 12
1991 United States WC 4th 10 1 0 1 6
Junior totals 7 3 0 3 2
Senior totals 20 1 2 3 18

See also

References

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  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by New York Islanders first round draft pick
1986		 Succeeded by
Dean Chynoweth
Preceded by
Position created
 Nashville Predators captain
1998–2002		 Succeeded by
Greg Johnson
Preceded by General manager of the New Jersey Devils
2020–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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