The Roundup | 10 TAKEAWAYS

In some ways, it’s felt like a long week, in others, it’s absolutely flown by.

Just over a week ago today, Sunny Mehta was named the sixth General Manager in New Jersey Devils history. Then the weekend hit, and after Bruce Springsteen wrapped up at Prudential Center on Monday, Mehta was finally introduced at his press conference on Tuesday.

Since then, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind. He’s been meeting players still around, connecting with staff, and just trying to get his footing in a new role. It’s been a busy few days, to say the least.

We’ve already rolled out a lot of content, but why not one more?

There was just so much to take in that not everything got its time in the spotlight. So in this week’s edition of 10 Takeaways, we’re digging a little deeper into Mehta’s first days as GM.

1.

Mehta's goal? Quite simple, but requires a ton of work.

"My goal for this front office is quite simple. I want to make smart, objective, and educated decisions, and I want to do it over and over and over again. For that reason, I believe I'm the right person to implement that agenda, given my past experiences and successes. The team. So let's talk about the team itself. I'm extremely optimistic about this team. We have a lot of talented players, and I really truly believe that these talented players are about to hit an inflection point and get over that hurdle. It's my job to make sure that this roster is consistently flush with the necessary amount of talent to be a championship team, and I intend to do that. As for the short term, going forward, there's going to be a period of assessment of all players, coaches, and staff."

2.

It slipped under the radar, but I think it’s really worth noting. Mehta has become the first National Hockey League General Manager of South Asian descent, a history-making moment.

When he was asked about it, his answer was as genuine and sincere as you could possibly imagine. He did not talk about himself.

He spoke about his parents:

So to me, it's so great for my parents. I can't tell you how great it is for my parents. Listen, I obviously was born in America and grew up in Jersey.

(...)

They were immigrants. They came to this country with $50 in their pocket, separately. They met here, and they worked their way up to sort of put me in this position, and I still remember the first time [lips smack] I had my day with the cup. The cup guys were telling my dad that they were pretty certain that I was the first person of South Asian descent to be on the Cup, and it meant so much to him. So I'm glad that in some way I can kind of almost give back to them.

3.

There’s been debate… Meh-ta or MAY-ta, as the official pronunciation. Before I sat down to interview him for our 1-on-1, I asked him about it. He told me that it’s been said every which way, that even people in his family say it differently, but, as he looked over to our phenomenal head of PR, Pete Albietz, they agreed they’ve settled on May-ta.

So, MAY-ta it is.

4.

The answer is no, Metha will never join the team for poker playing on the plane. It was an immediate ‘Never!’ with a laugh when I asked him. Not for any other reason than they will simply be completely outmatched!

“Never! Never! The whole time I was there, the guys in Florida tried to get me to play, and I’m not… I’m like, ‘You guys are so bad, I just don’t even want to go there!’

He would happily give advice, though he said, when I asked him if he’d be willing to give strategy advice to any player who asked. 

He also told me that he had given Florida’s A.J. Greer a copy of one of his poker books, and that Greer would read it on the plane.

5.

From fan to GM… that’s pretty incredible, all things considered. So, how do you keep the two things separate?

It won’t be hard for Mehta.

“On the keeping objective, sure, in some ways, that's going to be hard. I don't think it's a bad thing to care so deeply about the franchise you work for. But I also do think, again, it's in my nature to be a somewhat objective person. I think the training that I've had from playing poker, it's almost impossible to be a successful poker player and not have a level of objectivity. I think that'll serve me well.”

6.

Interviewing for this GM job wasn’t the first time Mehta sat for an interview with the New Jersey Devils. In 2014 he helped shape the beginnings of the analytics department and remembers well that interview process that had to be as intimidating as ever, especially for a fan of the team:

“What I remember about that interview was I was walking into a boardroom, and for the first time, I was meeting with David Blitzer, Josh Harris, and Lou Lamoriello. It was like murderers' row. And I think my wife will remember this. I went in there with a plan. I had all this stuff planned out. I'm like, "Oh, this is going to be great." And I went in there, and it was just like the firing squad. They just started peppering me with questions, and I was like, "Uh, uh, uh." And then, afterwards, I got done, I called my wife, and she's like: "How did it go?" And I was like: "I have no idea. I think it went well, but that was not what I was expecting." So it's different perspectives.”

7.

Mehta is a bit of a movie buff. His favorite filmmaker, and one of mine, too, is Wes Anderson. Anderson has some incredible movies. One of Sunny’s favorites, if not his favorite? The gold standard: The Royal Tenenbaums.

He asked me mine, and while the answer is also Tenenbaums, I went with Life Aquatic.  

8.

The question: How will his life as a professional poker player, and the style of play he has, potentially translate into his GM style?

“So most successful long-term poker players are what in the business we call tight and aggressive, which means in some ways, you're more patient than other poker players in the sense that you don't play garbage cards. You have the discipline and the patience to wait for your moment. But when you have that moment, you're extremely, extremely aggressive. You have to have the guts to do what it takes when that moment is right to win the hand, and I'd say that's exactly kind of how I view this."

9.

One of the craziest moments of the press conference was a seven-word stretch: “to fill in the gaps, or whatever.”

Want to know what he was talking about? Getting a master’s in data science!! Just casually dropping that in there was incredible, and so nonchalant. Like a throwaway!

10.

I know this one is going to make some of my colleagues roll their eyes... (in jest... I think!). But one thing you should know about me is that, as a bilingual person, growing up in Montreal and speaking both English and French fluently since I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do is speak in French with any staff or player or whoever, that also knows French.

So, imagine my surprise: when I met Sunny for the first time in his office, he already knew I was from Montreal and that someone had told him I spoke French, so he made his introduction to me in French. 

We carried on from there in French - me, extremely gleefully, and with my French Canadian accent. Meanwhile, Sunny has this wonderful Parisian-like French accent. 

I've been speaking the language my entire life. Mehta learned the language six years ago. I'm pretty sure he speaks it better than me, so there's that!