James Nichols
There wasn’t a chance the New Jersey Devils were going to let Sunny Mehta slip through their fingers.
Sunny Mehta is eight days into his Devils tenure and has already endeared himself to New Jersey’s organization and fans alike at his introductory press conference.
Yet, just nine days ago, there was the very real interest in and possibility that Mehta could be the next man in charge for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
According to Elliotte Friedman, David Blitzer and Josh Harris were not about to let that happen.
“The thing that’s interesting about that is I don’t think New Jersey was going to make their change (firing of Tom Fitzgerald) until the end of the season,” Friedman explained on NHL Radio Network’s Morning Skate. “And then they did. I think they knew that Toronto was interested, and then they were like, ‘Nope, he’s our guy.’”
“I heard that the Devils had either reached out or asked for permission for interviews with other people. And then when Toronto’s interest got out, they were like, ‘No, we’re just ending this search, and he’s our guy.’”
Certainly, the timing of Tom Fitzgerald‘s firing is a bit more clear.
The Devils canned the ex-GM with six games remaining in the regular season, calling it a mutual decision to part ways.
Yet, going into the conversation, Blitzer seemingly knew all along he was letting Fitzgerald go whether or not the former DevilsGM agreed.
“Talking with Josh [Harris] and talking out loud to myself sometimes, but ultimately, we came to the conclusion that it felt like this was the time that made sense to part ways,” Blitzer explained. “And as soon as that happened, is really when I sat down with Tom to just have a really open discussion. And we sort of both left that discussion, agreeing that, you know, it made sense timing wise, to make that decision.”
Mehta’s fit makes all the sense in the world. The nostalgia that he grew up in Wycoff, New Jersey and played high school hockey in Ramapo is all well and good. Sure, sprinkle on top that he grew up a Devils fan and watched them practice at the Meadowlands.
But Mehta’s fit as GM is far more than his background growing up.
The former two-time Stanley Cup winning assistant GM is a wealth of knowledge as a former professional poker player, stocks trader, two-time best selling author, and a musician. His analytical approach helped the Florida Panthers reel in guys like Matthew Tkachuk while having the foresight to cut ties with Johnathan Huberdeau and pluck Gustav Forsling off waivers.
Heck, in his first stint with the Devils, he ranked Jesper Bratt as the third-best forward in the drat, helping New Jersey hit a home run in the 2016 NHL Draft with the current fifth-leading point collector in the draft year.
After missing out on acquiring Quinn Hughes earlier this season, the Devils were not about to let another desired asset slip away.
As soon as they got a whiff that they could lose their guy, they made the aggressive decision to move on from Fitzgerald and sweep the rug from under the Maple Leafs’ feet.
Mehta wanted the Devils, and the Devils wanted Mehta.
Nothing was guaranteed, however. Had the Devils waited a bit longer, Mehta could have been working for the blue and white, as opposed to the red and black.
Thus, the Devils got their guy, while the Maple Leafs are still searching for theirs.
There may not have been a “eureka moment” to fire Fitzgerald. Yet, there was evidently one to hire Mehta.
