Fighting Your General Manager's Son Is An Easy Way To Make Sure You Never Get That Pay Bump On Your Next Contract
The Calder Cup Playoffs are currently going on in the AHL. The Utica Comets (Devils affiliate) and Rochester Americans (Sabres affiliate) were playing in the North Division Semifinals. Rochester won the series in game 5 last night but not before Utica won game 4 to extend the series.
Also in game 4, Comets defenseman Nikita Okhotyuk made perhaps the worst business decision of all time. Okhotyuk was a 2nd round pick to New Jersey in the 2019 Draft. He made his NHL debut earlier this season playing 5 games for the Devils. Chances are they were the last 5 games he ever played for the Devils after he beat up his general manager's son.
Up 4-0 early in the 3rd period. You don't take that fight in the first place because if you lose, you give Rochester all sorts of momentum with plenty of hockey still to play. But you especially don't take that fight when you know the guy whose face you're about to demolish is the son of the guy who signs your checks. Now maybe there's a chance that Tom Fitzgerald loves it. They're a hockey family from Massachusetts. I'd imagine Tom loves to see his boy muck it up in the playoffs like that and try to get the boys going. So I'm sure he's fine with Nikita giving him that fight. But do you want to know who probably doesn't love it?
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Mrs. Fitzgerald. And while Tom Fitzgerald might be running the show with the Devils, I'd imagine Mrs. Fitzgerald is the one who runs the show in that household. Happy wife, happy life. I'd imagine Okhotyuk either gets traded to Arizona in the offseason or else it's going to be a long year of sleeping on the couch for Tom Fitzgerald. Solid scrap though.