There was no chance that the New Jersey Devils were going to let Sunny Mehta slip through their fingers.
Sunny Mehta is eight days into his Devils tenure and has already endeared himself to the New Jersey organization and fans in his introductory press conference.
Yet, just nine days ago, there was real interest and possibility that Mehta could be the next one in charge of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
According to Elliotte Friedman, David Blitzer and Josh Harris weren't going to let that happen.
"The interesting thing about it is I didn't think New Jersey was going to make their change (Tom Fitzgerald's firing) until the end of the season," Friedman told NHL Radio Network's Morning Skate. "And then they did. I think they knew Toronto was interested, and then they said, 'No, he's our guy.'"
"I heard that the Devils had either reached out to other people or asked for permission to be interviewed. And then when Toronto got interested, they said, 'No, we're just ending this search, and he's our guy.'"
Of course, the timing of Tom Fitzgerald's firing is a little more obvious.
The Devils fired the ex-GM with six games remaining in the regular season, calling it a mutual decision to part ways.
Yet, going into the negotiations, Blitzer seemed to know all along that he was letting Fitzgerald go, whether the former Devils GM agreed or not.
"Talking to Josh [Harris] And sometimes talking out loud to ourselves, but ultimately, we came to the conclusion that we felt like this was the time when it made sense to separate,'' Blitzer explained. 'And as soon as that happened, that's actually when I sat down with Tom to have a very open discussion. And we both kind of left that discussion agreeing that, you know, it would be appropriate to make that decision as the time required."
Mehta's fitness matters the world over. The nostalgia of growing up in Wyckoff, New Jersey and playing high school hockey at Ramapo is all well and good. Of course, on top of that he grew up a Devils fan and watched them practice at the Meadowlands.
But Mehta's qualifications as a GM go beyond his background growing up.
The former two-time Stanley Cup-winning assistant GM is a wealth of knowledge as a former professional poker player, stock trader, two-time best-selling author and a musician. His analytical approach helped the Florida Panthers add guys like Matthew Tkachuk, while having the foresight to part ways with Johnathan Huberdeau and remove Gustav Forsling from waivers.
Heck, in his first stint with the Devils, he ranked Jesper Bratt as the third-best forward in the draft, helping New Jersey hit a home run in the 2016 NHL Draft with the current fifth-leading point collector in the draft year.
After missing out on acquiring Quinn Hughes earlier this season, the Devils were not going to miss out on another desirable asset.
As soon as they realized they might lose their man, they made the aggressive decision to move on from Fitzgerald and pull the rug out from under the Maple Leafs' feet.
Mehta loved the devils, and the devils loved Mehta.
However, nothing was guaranteed. If the Devils had waited a little longer, Mehta might have been suiting up for the blue and white instead of the red and black.
Thus, the Devils got their guy, while the Maple Leafs are still looking for their guy.
There may have been no "eureka moment" in Fitzgerald's dismissal. Still, there was obviously someone who hired Mehta.
