The New Jersey Devils made a major move on Thursday. The organization announced that they’ve hired Sunny Mehta as the team’s next general manager.
Mehta comes over from the Florida Panthers where he spent the last six seasons. He was first the vice president of hockey strategy and intelligence beginning in 2020. After a promotion, he spent the last three as assistant general manager and head of analytics under Bill Zito, arguably the best general manager in the sport. He held this title for each of the Panthers’ back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2023 and 2024.
By joining the Devils, it is a homecoming for the 48-year-old Mehta. After being born in Michigan he was raised in Wyckoff, NJ. He actually played varsity hockey for Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes. In the press release from the organization he was cited as saying, “This is a dream come true for a New Jersey kid, who grew up watching Devils’ practices just 20 minutes away in Totowa.”. He added, “I was fortunate enough to watch the New Jersey Devils raise three Stanley Cups and am excited to get to work to return to that level.”
Not only does Mehta have a personal connection to the area, he also has a professional one as well. One of Mehta’s first jobs in the NHL was with the Devils. He was hired by the organization in 2014 where he established the NHL’s first full-time analytics department. In total, he spent four seasons in New Jersey (2014-15 to 2017-18).
Mehta certainly did make his mark in New Jersey during his tenure as well. The following excerpt is from Peter Baugh’s article in 2025 via the Athletic, “He also had a proponent in Sunny Mehta, then the Devils’ director of hockey analytics, and his statistical model that ranked players before the draft. That model’s final rankings, according to a team source, put Auston Matthews as the No. 1 player in the class, Patrik Laine at No. 2 and Bratt at No. 3. Mehta, now an assistant general manager with the Panthers, was skeptical about that high a ranking, but after New Jersey took Michael McLeod in the first round and Nathan Bastian in the second, he started pushing hard for Bratt. The upside was there, and the Devils finally took their swing in the sixth round.”
Mehta also has NHL experience consulting for the Washington Capitals (2019-20) and Arizona Coyotes (2010-11.) His analytical work has also gone past the NHL, as he has previously consulted for six Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. Mehta has also been a guest speaker at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, an annual industry meeting among the brightest analytical minds in sports. The American also has a master’s degree in data science from the City University of New York.
Mehta has an extremely diverse background. He graduated from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music in 2000. Following his graduation, he spent time as professional musician and interestingly a professional poker player. Mehta was so involved in poker, he co-authored two bestselling books on poker strategy.
As for the job itself, it was reported after the partnership between the Devils and Tom Fitzgerald ended that the Devils’ job was in high demand. According to the team’s press release the organization knew just that, “We quickly realized this job was in high demand and were incredibly fortunate to meet with many qualified candidates.” They moved quickly and were able to lock down arguably the best option available.
Prior to the hiring a lot was made about if the Devils were going to hire one or two individuals to lead the front office. It was rumored the team may want to hire a president of hockey operations in addition to a general manager. According to Elliotte Friedman of TSN, “He’ll [Mehta] be the hockey operations decision maker for the Devils.” There seems to be a lot less of a chance that the team hires an individual in a president of hockey operations role than there was just a week ago.
Regardless, hiring Mehta to lead the organization is a terrific move. He is an extremely smart hockey mind who has an extension background in analytics and has a firsthand experience of winning playing an integral role in the Panthers’ back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Not to mention, he is well acquainted with the area both professionally and having been raised just minutes from where the team used to play.
There will be an introductory press conference on Tuesday.