Mehta excited to start ‘dream job’ as Devils general manager

NEWARK, N.J. -- Sunny Mehta took the Stanley Cup to his home state of New Jersey each of the past two years after winning it as assistant general manager of the Florida Panthers.

Now, he's hoping to do the same with his childhood team after being hired by the New Jersey Devils as GM on April 16.

"As many of you know, I have been you for 40 years," the 48-year-old said at his introductory press conference at Prudential Center on Tuesday. "And it's really not an exaggeration when I tell you this is my dream job. I grew up 20 miles from here. I played high school hockey in New Jersey. I've been following this team since I was a small kid. It's funny, because I was born in Michigan, but I moved here at 4 years old in 1982. You know who else moved here in 1982? The Devils."

Mehta spent six seasons with the Panthers, 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.

Mehta, who replaced Tom Fitzgerald, who was fired on April 6, rooted for the Devils attending practices and games and was even at Game 7 of the 2003 Cup Final when the Devils defeated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He's hoping to restore the team back to those winning ways.

"Yeah, I definitely have (thought about winning the Cup with the Devils)," Mehta said. "... The first year (winning it with Florida in 2024), I took it to my high school where I played high school hockey in Franklin Lakes, and I think as happy as everybody was, I definitely got a lot of chirps that, you know, ‘You're bringing this here with Florida, why don't you bring it here with New Jersey?’ So I've kept that in the back of my mind."

He is tasked with guiding a Devils team that finished seventh in the Metropolitan Division this season with a record of 42-37-3 back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since losing to the Los Angeles Kings in six games in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, the Devils have qualified for the playoffs three times (2018, 2023, 2025), winning one series in that span (2023 Eastern Conference First Round).

"I'm extremely optimistic about this team," Mehta said. "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."

Those talented players include captain Nico Hischier and fellow forwards Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, all part of the core for New Jersey, which hasn't advanced past the second round in their tenures.

"I've actually already gotten a chance to reach out to pretty much all of the players and all of the staff," Mehta said. "I've had more detailed conversations, for example, with Nico and Jack and a few other guys, and I mean, I'm just nothing but excited. All they've exuded to me is a passion. They're all, frankly, pretty (ticked) off that they're not in the playoffs, which I love. And there's nothing that I can sort of think of in that regard to believe that we can't get over this hurdle. There's not a doubt in my mind."

Although Mehta stressed that it was early in his tenure as GM, he does have decisions to make, including regarding the future of coach Sheldon Keefe. After Fitzgerald was fired and prior to Mehta being hired, Keefe said he would "be part of an evaluation process" after the season. 

"For the short term, going forward, there's going to be a period of assessment of all players, coaches, and staff; no decisions have been made on anything pertaining to that," Mehta said.

Hischier will be entering the final year of a seven-year, $50.7 million contract ($7.25 million average annual value) and is eligible to sign a new contract on July 1.

The Devils also have three pending unrestricted free agents -- forwards Evgenii Dadonov and Zack MacEwen, and defenseman Dennis Cholowski -- and four restricted free agents -- forwards Arseny Gritsyuk and Paul Cotter, defenseman Simon Nemec and goalie Nico Daws.

"Specific players and personnel, it's Day 2 still for me," he said. "So that's something I'll kind of think about and that'll be part of the evaluation process in the offseason."

Mehta had great success in Florida, but said that's now in the past. He's ready for a new challenge, in his home state, helping his home team be a contender again.

"What drives me most is there's obviously just no better feeling than lifting that Stanley Cup," he said. "It's indescribable. ... I absolutely think we have the pieces."