With the 2022 NHL Draft just two months away, New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald has made it clear his team's first-round selection could be in play.

"I said this two drafts ago when we had the three first-round picks, I'm open to whatever can help our team improve," Fitzgerald said Thursday, according to NHL.com's Wes Crosby. "If that is using a pick like that, wherever it may be, to help bring in a player that we know and feel will help impact the results that we are looking for, absolutely."

New Jersey currently holds the fifth-best odds (8.5%) of landing the No. 1 selection at the 2022 draft lottery. The team ultimately picked forward Alexander Holtz, center Dawson Mercer, and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin with its trio of 2020 first-rounders (Nos. 7, 18, and 20).

The Devils finished in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division with a 27-46-9 record this past season and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive campaign.