Devils hire top GM candidate away from the Leafs!

The New Jersey Devils have hired former Florida Panthers assistant GM Sunny Mehta as their new general manager.

“This is a dream come true for a New Jersey kid, who grew up watching Devils’ practices just 20 minutes away in Totowa,” said Mehta in a prepared statement. “After meeting with David Blitzer, Josh Harris, Bob Myers, and other members of the organization, I knew this was the place I wanted to be. Thank you to Vinnie Viola, Bill Zito and the entire Florida Panthers organization for a fantastic six years and for the opportunity to take the next step in my professional career. New Jersey has a tremendous young core that will be looking to get back to being a contender, a complement of young assets and draft picks, and a passionate fan base hungry for success. 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.”

Mehta, who helped the Panthers to back to back Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025 was rumored to be high on the list of candidates for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Evidently though, the lure of returning to his home state and the familiarity of working for a team that he once consulted for was too much of a draw for Mehta to consider Toronto.

On to Plan B in Toronto...