James Nichols
The New Jersey Devils are, in fact, interviewing one of the hottest free agent general manager candidates.
On Thursday, a source confirmed o New Jersey Hockey Now that the Devils have received permission from the Florida Panthers to speak with Sunny Mehta about their open GM position.
Pierre Lebrun was first to report.
Mehta is one of two assistant Panthers GMs who are drawing interest for several vacancies, including Brett Peterson.
At this point, there’s no indication the Devils have asked to speak with Peterson as well.
Mehta is also one of New Jersey Hockey Now’s “must interview” candidates after the Devils fired Tom Fitzgerald Monday evening.
Mehta is one of Bill Zito’s right-hand men that helped the Panthers capture back-to-back Stanley Cups in the last two seasons.
Mehta, a former New Jersey resident from Wyckoff, also has ties to the Devils as their former director of hockey analytics from 2014 to 2017.
The Devils won’t be alone in interviewing Mehta. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who fired Brad Treliving on March 30th, are also interviewing the Panthers assistant GM for their vacant position.
Mehta is one of the premier candidates on the GM market due to his analytical approach. He was one of the key factors in the Panthers finding Gustav Forsling on the waiver wire, moving Spencer Knight for Seth Jones, and had a hand in reeling in Matthew Tkachuk.
Mehta, a Devils fan growing up, explained back in 2021 that his love affair with hockey started in New Jersey.
“They just practiced out in the public,” Mehta told NHL.com five years ago. “It was the mid-80s. It was very, very different. Like there’d be more people at the public skate than there would be watching the Devils practice. But little 7-year-old me, was like, enthralled by this. I would just stand there up against the glass and watch the Devils practice, day after day.”
It would be pretty cool to see that come full circle if he were to take the GM seat as the next assistant GM poised to become a full-time general manager.
