Color of Hockey: Mehta's hiring as Devils GM hailed as 'historic moment'

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles the reaction within the South Asian hockey community to the New Jersey Devils hiring Sunny Mehta as their new general manager. Mehta is believed to be the first GM of South Asian descent in the NHL.

Sunny Mehta spoke at his introductory press conference about what it meant to him to join his home-state New Jersey Devils as their new general manager.

“It's really not an exaggeration when I tell you, this is my dream job,” the former Florida Panthers assistant general manager told the assembled media at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

Mehta’s new job is also a dream come true to Robin Bawa, who became the first NHL player of Indian descent when he debuted with the Washington Capitals against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 6, 1989.

Mehta is believed to be the first person of South Asian descent to become an NHL GM, which Bawa hails as a sign of progress in hockey and a source of pride among members of the community.

“I think it’s an historic moment, just incredible,” said Bawa, a forward who played 61 NHL games with the Capitals, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim from 1989-94. “The GM is the face of the franchise and he’s going to be the face of the franchise for the Devils. He’s going to be in the spotlight, and the whole world will know, which is incredible.”

Mehta emphasized his Jersey roots on Tuesday, but took a moment, when asked, to touch on what his ascension means to a South Asian community where interest in hockey is growing, especially in Western Canada.

“I still remember, like, the first time I had my day with the Cup (in 2024),” he said. “The Cup (keepers) 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, like, it just it meant so much to him.”

“For my parents, that kind of thing is a big deal. 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.”

Mehta was with the Panthers for six seasons, including the past three as assistant GM and director of analytics. Florida made the Cup Final each of the past three seasons, winning back-to-back championships in 2024 and 2025.

The 48-year-old, who grew up 20 miles from Newark and played varsity hockey at Ramapo (N.J.) High School, replaced Tom Fitzgerald, who was fired on April 6. The Devils finished seventh in the Metropolitan Division at 42-37-3 and failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 11th time in 14 seasons.

Lali Toor, co-founder of Apna Hockey, an initiative that provides a network and support for players with South Asian backgrounds in Canada, said Mehta’s hire is the latest example of achievement from the community in the sport.

People of South Asian descent are among ownership groups of several NHL clubs that includes the Malhotra family with the Ottawa Senators and Michael Nijjar with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Former NHL forward Manny Malhotra -- no relation to the Malhotras of the Senators' ownership group -- coached Abbottsford, the Vancouver Canucks’ American Hockey League affiliate, to the Calder Cup championship last season with Harry Mahesh as an assistant and with forwards Jujhar Khaira and Arshdeep Bains, who each have NHL experience, on the roster.

Sudarshan Maharaj, who survived pancreatic cancer in 2023, is director of goaltending for the Anaheim Ducks, overseeing the organization’s goaltending, coaching development and scouting for the position.

Chanreet Bassi became the first player of South Asian descent to be drafted by a Professional Women's Hockey League team when Vancouver selected her in the sixth round (No. 48) in 2025. The forward signed to play with Linkoping HC in Sweden.

“Sunny's definitely broken some barriers, a lot of barriers, to be in this capacity and he's definitely earned it,” Toor said.  “It shows that if you put the time and effort into it, there’s no barrier out there. You can break it and become the GM of the New Jersey Devils, become the head coach of an NHL team in the future, hopefully Manny Malhotra, you can make it to the NHL like Jujhar Khaira and Arshdeep Bains, you can make it in professional women’s hockey like Chanreet Bassi. I think we're going to see the effects of Sunny be named GM for the next generation.”

Kush Sidhu, director and a coach with the Washington Pride, a girls’ hockey program that has sent more than 140 players to NCAA Division I and Division III schools since its inception in 1995, called Mehta’s hiring “awesome.”

“He's got a tough job going to the Devils,” Sidhu said. “They’ve struggled. They haven’t made the playoffs. They’re loaded with talent. They’re going to have to do some magic to get them over the hump.

“Hopefully, Sunny’s very successful and that brings more visibility and more opportunities for the next guy,” Sidhu said.