Tom Fitzgerald

Leaf Nation
Feature Profile
By MICHAEL DOJC

He?s played in the NHL for sixteen solid years without ever tallying more than thirty-five points in a season but stats don?t tell the story with feisty Fitzy?there?s nothing average about this Tom.

?For me hockey is a chess match, you try to anticipate moves. People may say I?ve lost a step, and you know I?m not getting any younger, but I?ve become a smarter player,? reflects Fitzgerald.

Call him a card puncher or lunch pailer, you can even label him with the not quite-

?the-man? role player tag?none of it fizzes Fitzgerald, the well-liked veteran workhorse digs his blue and white collar job with the Maple Leafs

Fitzgerald may never wear an All-Star jersey in his career but there?s good reason he?s logged over 1000 games in the NHL, worn a C on his chest for 300 of those games with his last club the Nashville Predators, and was dubbed the ?embodiment? of the hardnosed Vanbiesbrouck-era Stanley Cup contending Florida Panthers by the Miami Herald.

Fitzy is an indispensable part of any team?s puzzle. He?s a defensive forward who skates below the radar of the score sheet but racks up scads of points in categories that help win hockey games: creating turnovers, killing penalties, and preserving leads.

He may not get credited with the assist but Fitzgerald is the guy who digs the puck out of the corner and makes the outlet pass to get it out of the zone. And in the course of a game he?ll deliver more checks than payroll services giant ADP?he forechecks, he backchecks and most importantly he makes a point of finishing his checks.

?He?s the type of player you need? Fitzgerald?s first cousin, St. Louis Blues star forward Keith Tkachuk once put it to reporters. ?He?s the type of player you don?t see around very often.?

So what kind of measurable impact can a lugnut-in-the-wheel type of player like Fitzgerald make? The kind that goes TWHACK against the boards and hurts not only your body, but your self-esteem.

As former teammate Bill Lindsay once explained, "If someone hits you at 5-11[Fitzgerald?s official tally?though between you and me he?s probably a couple inches shorter], most guys don't like that." The late Roger Neilson affectionately nicknamed Fitzgerald a gnat because of his uncanny ability to get underneath opponents skin. He?s even been called a pest in the past because of his ability to frustrate the competition but Fitzgerald is no rink rat, he?s more like a rabbit?still a rodent but one with a busy tail so you wouldn?t mind seeing him around the house, which is why Fitzgerald?s aggravating antics are respected around the league.

On occasion what Fitzgerald brings to the rink isn?t just fodder for hardcore hockey heads and the coaching cognoscenti but stuff casual fans who like their hockey in the ?he shoots, he scores? variety can get fired up about. In 1993 it was Fitzgerald?s gritty game that allowed a Pierre Turgeon-less Islanders to win a grueling seven game series against the defending champion Penguins to take the Patrick Division final. He even dazzled offensively potting two shorthanded goals on the same penalty in game 4, one in the last minute of the second period and another in the first minute of the third.

"Fitzie drove Mario Lemieux nuts, literally, nuts. His pursuit, his doggedness, was a major factor in us winning that series,? Hall of Fame general manager Bill Torrey informed newspapers.

Fitzgerald wasn?t always aware of his gifts-defensive hockey smarts take time and maturity to fully develop. ?When I first came in to the NHL I played on a lot of adrenaline, I didn?t think the game out, I played on natural ability? recalls Fitzgerald.

?I went out there and hit everybody so getting a big hit and creating turnovers was the way I played and that?s still a big part of my game but now it?s also about thinking it out and figuring out different situations,? he continues.

?You can?t teach a guy to have offensive hands or offensive ability, you just can?t, it?s just a natural instinct, but you can teach a kid how to be responsible if he?s willing to learn. If you have an offensive kid who is willing to learn the other side of the game you can teach them to play defense,? explains Fitzgerald, an avid student of the D game himself.

In his youth Fitzgerald was a young gunner with a real knack for turning on the red light. When the New York Islanders selected him 17^th overall in the 1986 entry draft, what grabbed scouts attention was the 35 goals he scored in 24 games as a high school senior. In the AHL he?d continue his offensive onslaught, potting 30 goals and amassing 53 points in 53 games in a monster season with the Springfield Indians.

But over the next few years it became evident while vying for ice time behind a trio of mesh finding centremen in Bryan Trottier, Pat LaFontaine, and Brent Sutter, Fitzgerald would have to find a new forte if he wanted to stay in the league.

Isles coach Al Arbour took Fitzgerald aside and told him he should put less stock in point production and find other ways to contribute to the team?s success.

?He came up to me one day and said you?re not going to stay in this league by scoring goals but if you can be responsible defensively, be a good defensive forward, if you get ten goals in a year, that?s a bonus. Your job first and foremost should be defensively minded, and that?s how I started to evolve,? relates Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald?s evolution didn?t stop there, with each uniform change in his career, Fitzy garnered more knowledge and continually improved upon his approach to the game.

Even at 35 in the twilight of his NHL career Fitzgerald continues to be a student and Pat Quinn has turned out to be an excellent teacher over the two years Fitzgerald has had the pleasure of being a Maple Leaf.

?The thing Pat has done for my career is really put more confidence in me. I came here as a third liner at best, fourth line player and Pat saw that when he needed to fill in a guy with Mats [Sundin], he could come to me.?

Quinn recognized Fitzgerald?s versatility and ability to play in a multitude of situations, and was comfortable in putting him in places he wasn?t? accustomed to, knowing that Fitzgerald is versatile enough to adapt to any situation duty calls for. Pat also schooled Fitzgerald about the importance of tailoring pre-game preparations to every opponent you face.

? Leaf practices are all geared around who are we playing the next night, how they forecheck, and what we need to do to beat them? Fitzgerald explains.

Fitzgerald can?t say enough about Quinn. ?Pat is a very loyal coach. He says what he needs to say and he treats us like adults, like veterans, and lets us go out and handle problems, and figure out situations. He doesn?t handcuff you by saying you have to dump the puck in every time. Whatever skill you have, you use it.?

That?s fine with Fitz and he?ll continue to reap satisfaction from shutting down opponents and doing all the little things that make the Leafs winners.

Of course blazing one by the keeper still fires up the cylinders of even the most defensive players in the game so no matter how much fun Fitzgerald has doing his thing on the ice nothing will supplant the joy of a scoring goal?Fitz does find the five-hole and other regions of the net at a pace of roughly one goal every ten games.

?When I prevent a goal and come back hard and put my stick in the way, that?s what I do, that?s my job. On the other hand when people look at me they?re not like ?Fitzy we need a goal from you tonight,? so when you score goals it?s a thrill.?

Shoot to thrill, and do the little things that kill?that?s hockey for you Fitzy-style.