The New Jersey Devils hired Sunny Mehta as the sixth general manager in team history on Thursday, bringing a former club executive back to Newark after six seasons with the Florida Panthers. Mehta, 48, joins a franchise that is trying to turn a promising core and a pile of draft picks into something more immediate.
David Blitzer said the Devils were fortunate to meet with many qualified candidates for a job he described as in high demand. He said Mehta’s familiarity with the organization and his experience with a two-time Stanley Cup-winning team would help form the basis for future success, while adding that the team expects to be a perennial playoff club that can compete for the Stanley Cup.
Mehta said the move was a dream come true for a New Jersey kid who grew up watching Devils practices in Totowa, and that he knew this was the place he wanted to be after meeting with Blitzer, Josh Harris, Bob Myers and others in the organization. He thanked Vinnie Viola, Bill Zito and the Florida Panthers for six years and for giving him the chance to take the next step in his career.
His return also brings him back to the organization where he first started his NHL management career. Mehta was named director of hockey analytics in 2014 and helped establish the league’s first full-time analytics department, then spent four seasons with New Jersey from 2014-15 to 2017-18 before consulting for the Washington Capitals in 2019-20 and the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010-11.
In Florida, Mehta spent the last three seasons as assistant general manager and head of analytics after joining the Panthers in 2020 as vice president of hockey strategy and intelligence. He worked with management and coaches on amateur player and free agent evaluation, trade deadline opportunities and roster decisions, and was part of the group that helped deliver back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025. Florida became just the fourth team in the last 30 years to win consecutive championships.
Mehta’s path to the top job is unusual even by hockey standards. He graduated from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music in 2000, later earned a master’s degree in data science from City University of New York, worked as a professional musician in New Orleans, played poker in Las Vegas, co-authored two poker strategy books and then served as a proprietary derivatives trader at Peak6 Capital. He said he was fortunate enough to watch the Devils raise three Stanley Cups, and now gets a chance to try to help deliver another one.
The fit is clear on paper and in memory. Mehta comes home with championship experience, a deep analytical background and a first-hand understanding of what the Devils once were — and what they are now trying to become again.
