HERNING, Denmark -- Timo Meier isn't startled by any talk of imminent changes by New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald.
The forward is instead energized by the declaration after a five-game loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"One hundred percent," Meier told NHL.com on Saturday from the 2025 IIHF World Championship, where he's competing for Switzerland. "We know the standard, and we have to raise the standard. Just being in the playoffs, that's not what we're satisfied with. We want to go further. It should be energizing and motivating. We want more. Everybody works together. The GM is working hard. All the players want to improve and got to improve.
"Being in the playoffs, you get a taste of it again. For us, we've got to be there. We want to be there every year and go further, not just getting there. It's not enough. We want more."
The Devils were outscored 20-11 by the Hurricanes after finishing third in the Metropolitan Division, eight points behind Carolina. They have eight pending unrestricted free agents: forwards Tomas Tatar, Nathan Bastian, Curtis Lazar, Daniel Sprong and Justin Dowling, defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Dennis Cholowski, and goalie Jake Allen.
Forward Cody Glass and defenseman Luke Hughes can be restricted free agents July 1.
"We've got a lot of decisions to make on certain players whether we bring guys back, trade players, (but) we won't be coming back with the same group (in 2025-26)," Fitzgerald said during his end-of-season press conference Thursday. "I can tell you that because it wasn't good enough.
"Was it a great year? No, it was disappointing. We got knocked out in five games. But the fun part is to start to build around what we've created here."
The Devils qualified for the playoffs for the second time in three seasons despite a .467 points percentage (19-22-4, 42 points) that was 27th in the NHL in 45 games coming out of the Christmas break. They were 23-11-3 on Dec. 23 for a .662 points percentage that ranked fourth.
"I like it, honestly," said Devils captain Nico Hischier, who also is playing for Switzerland. "We made the playoffs. We made a step in the right direction. Obviously we got a little unlucky with injuries during the playoffs and right before playoffs, but every offseason is a chance to add and make the team better. We made the playoffs, but I'm biased. I think we have the team to go all the way.
"We obviously could've made a run. You've always got to believe. It's just a step in the right direction, and I like it if the GM says we are going to add some key players that he thinks can help the team improve and be that championship team we hopefully one day will be."
Their push this season was derailed by injuries. Center Jack Hughes was ruled out for the remainder of the season after having shoulder surgery March 5. He was second on New Jersey with 70 points (27 goals, 43 assists) in 62 games.
The Devils announced May 5 that Luke Hughes and forward Jesper Bratt each had shoulder surgery. Johnathan Kovacevic is not expected to be ready for training camp after the defenseman had surgery three days later for a knee injury sustained during the first period of Game 3 against the Hurricanes.
"Obviously injuries happen," Meier said. "They happened at a bad time, but it's important guys step up. You want to be deep. Guys go down, other guys have to step up. We have to be deeper, and we got to have more guys that contribute.
"It's a fun journey and a fun process. I'm really excited already for next year."
NHL.com senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report
