On Monday, a significant event began for the New Jersey Devils: NHL free agency. The team's focus was clear: they were looking for defensemen. They managed to sign one of the best players in the free agent class as well as another defensive player.

However, they missed out on two potential top-six forwards as the Nashville Predators signed both Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. However, they still managed to bring back a fan favorite. Now the question is: Do we evaluate Tom Fitzgerlad's moves today?

Unsurprisingly, the worst-kept secret on social media about who the devil's big fish would be turned out to be Brett Pesce. Today, Pesce signed a 6x $5.5 million contract worth a total of $33 million. Pesce, the 29-year-old defenseman, spent eight years in Carolina with the Hurricanes.

Although he is not an offensive player, as he only scored 13 points last season, his main skill is defense. Pesce's greatest achievement is his blocked shots and his hits. Last season, Pesce had 113 blocks and 25 hits. Although this was not his best season in terms of those numbers, he is still an excellent defensive player. He hopes to be the defenseman the Devils are looking for. Which defense pair he will be assigned to is yet to be decided. However, with the contract being lower than originally rumored, Tom Fitzgerald has done his job well and improved the defense with a guy like Pesce.

In addition to the Pesce rumors, there were also rumors that the Devils would sign Brenden Dillion. Well, thanks to Fitzgerald, the Devils were able to fix their biggest weakness by signing him in a single day.

Dillon has been in the NHL for 12 years, most recently with the Winnipeg Jets. Although Dillon, like Pesce, is best known for his defense, he also has some offensive ability, as Dillon scored 20 points last season. What makes Dillon an excellent catcher is his hits and blocks; he had 111 blocks and 241 hits. Dillon will most likely be used on a line with Simon Nemec as a defense pair, which might be an underrated defense pair in the NHL. The only reason he gets an A-Is is because the 3×4 contract is worth $12 million. The money is okay, but the years might be too much. Overall, the contract is still worthwhile because of his defense.

With Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos out, Fitzgerald decided to improve the physical condition by bringing back fan favorite Stefan Noesen. Noesen has been in the NHL for over nine years, playing for the Devils, Ducks, Penguins, Sharks, Maple Leafs and most recently the Hurricanes.

Noesen is best remembered for his 2017–18 season, in which he played a key role in the Devils reaching the playoffs, scoring the game-winning goal in Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning to prevent a series sweep.

So why was he brought back to New Jersey? He was a major factor in Carolina. He was a standout player the last two seasons, scoring 30+ points two seasons in a row. He was a tremendous presence in front of the goal and a surprising contributor in the PP, providing eight power play assists.

However, his physical play made Noesen great, as he had 118 hits on the season. Just like Pesce and Dillon, he brings the kind of physicality that the Devils have been lacking for some time. However, this only gets a B+ due to the contract Fitzy gave him, which was 3 x $2.75 million, so worth a total of $8.25 million. That's certainly a lot of money for the kind of player he is, and considering the Devils don't have a top-six forward yet and need the money to extend Dawson Mercer's contract, that will no doubt be an issue – however, the talent and what Noeson can do still make it an excellent deal.