Jack Hughes: “Obviously, sad for Fitzy and his family. 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.”
Jesper Bratt: “I’ve been very thankful for all the years with Fitzy. He treated me well. He entrusted in me to be one of the leaders and part of this team for a long time. … I feel disappointed in myself, and what the whole team feels like. When this happens it’s because the team doesn’t perform the way the GM built up the plan. Sometimes that unfortunately falls on them. We feel very responsible for that.”
Luke Hughes: “It sucks. Fitzy put us all together. More importantly, he was a really great person. He treated me and my brother and the players in this locker room with a lot of respect. He really cared for us. That’s a testament to him as a person. Just a really great person. It sucks. It’s a tough day for everyone. It’s part of the business and it just sucks.”
Timo Meier: “He gave me a chance to come here, traded for me and signed long term. It’s disappointing seeing this. He believed in me. We didn’t get the results that we wanted to be in this position to have this happen. It’s obviously on us players and we want to be professional and handle this the right way.”
