標籤: Sunny

Sunny Mehta already has the option to pick up the phone and negotiate a potential New Jersey Devils trade and improve his top six.

After failing to make the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season, the Detroit Red Wings are now the longest-serving team to miss the postseason after the Buffalo Sabers punched their ticket this spring.

Expressing his disappointment with Steve Yzerman declaring a disappointing season, he described the Red Wings as “needing better players” and said that no one in the organization is untouched.

“We will certainly look at any ways we can improve our team to take the next step,” Yzerman said. “Definitely ready to do that. We’re absolutely ready to do that.”

While it’s unclear what direction Detroit’s GM will choose to go this summer, the Red Wings certainly have some players that would benefit New Jersey in a potential Devils trade.

In his introductory press conference, Mehta explained that he wanted to “make smart, objective and educated decisions… again and again, again and again.”

He later clarified that although he has a background in analytics as a former professional poker player, stock trader, and NHL executive, he finds value in blending analytics with his hockey knowledge.

“The reason I ever cared about analytics, statistical probability, is because it helped me win. It helped me win in poker. It helped me win on the trading floor, and it helped me win in hockey. And that’s why I care about it.

“And blending, of course, is important in the same way as in poker it’s not just the numbers. You have to get a feel for your opponent. You have to understand the subjectivity of bluffing. And, you have to understand psychology. And the same is true in trading, right? You have to have a feel for the markets. You have to understand how news affects things, how subjectivity and human emotions affect things.”

So, who can the Devils target in Detroit to improve their roster?

alex debrincat

Who is better than Alex DeBrincat for goals?

DeBrincat is the Red Wings’ leading goal scorer over the past two seasons, with 41 and 39 goals respectively. 2025-26 was the third time in the 28-year-old’s nine-year career that he reached or surpassed the 40-goal mark. He has also scored more than 30 goals in five seasons in his career.

DeBrincat scores in a lot of different ways. He can finish off the rush, shoot from a different zone on offense, he scored 15 power play goals last season, and added eight assists on the man advantage.

DeBrincat is coming off a career-best 85-point season, which will certainly increase his trade value.

However, the Devils have assets to deal with.

DeBrincat – a regular running-back with Patrick Kane – would ultimately be a strong fit next to Devils stars Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt to complete that line.

He has one year remaining on his contract in 2026-27 with $7.875 million before a new contract becomes due next summer.

The Devils need to score more goals and that’s what DeBrincat does best.

lucas raymond

If the Devils want a younger option, Mehta could target Lucas Raymond.

One of the criticisms of Raymond in 2025–26 was that he needed to shoot more. Nevertheless, he scored 25 goals on 173 shots – a shooting percentage of 14.5%.

In four of Raymond’s five seasons in the NHL, he has scored 20 or more goals. In 2023–24, Raymond scored a career-high 31 goals, and the following season scored a career-high 80 points.

Raymond is a skilled all-around forward who should be spending a little more time in the prime years of his career at the age of 24.

On the downside, Raymond was trusted as the driver of his line, rather than being a complimentary piece next to Hughes or Bratt.

The Devils have assets to deal with, their first-round selection Simon Nemec and perhaps one of their young rising forward players, Lenny Haminaho.

Raymond is heading into a third, very favorable eight-year contract with a cap hit of $8.075 million.

Hey, David Blitzer gave Mehta his blessing to spend the cap. He can also swing for the fences.

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls

Sunny Mehta is living his dream as the general manager of the New Jersey Devils.

He himself had said this in his opening statement.

“First and foremost, I really want to thank David Blitzer, all of Devils ownership, Josh Harris and Bob Myers, Tad Brown for hiring me not only today, but 12 years ago,” Mehta began. “I can definitely tell you that my career wouldn’t be the same without these people. And it’s a thrill. To be honest, it’s a dream to be back here.”

The local boy has come home – where he previously worked as Director of Analytics – but now in a very different role.

However, he has returned before. When the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup — in both 2024 and 2025 — Mehta brought Lord Stanley back to his days in New Jersey with the trophy.

For Mehta, it’s always been New Jersey.

It was here that he fell in love with hockey. It was here that he fell in love with devils. And that is why he is in this position today.

There was not a single revelation in Mehta’s initial press conference. This is the 48-year-old officers’ second day on the job. He revealed that he has had at least one conversation with everyone in the organization, including the coaching staff and every player on the roster.

What it revealed was that their optimism stemmed from some of the parts the Devils already had.

“I’m extremely optimistic about this team,” Mehta said. “We have a lot of talented players, and I really believe that these talented players are going to reach a turning point and get over that hurdle. It’s my job to make sure this roster continues to be filled with the amount of talent needed to be a championship team, and I intend to do that.”

And while that’s all well and good, it’s the results that will speak the loudest.

So, what was the biggest takeaway from his introductory press conference?

Everything is under evaluation

Mehta decapitated the snake at the beginning of his introductory press conference. He explained to everyone and everything working under him is for evaluation.

It starts with Sheldon Keefe – who was present at Mehta’s introductory press conference – and extends to Nico Hischier, Simon Nemec and Arseny Gritsyuk.

This also extends to his personal cabinet, assistant coaching staff and scouting department.

“As far as the short term is concerned, moving forward, there is going to be a period of evaluation for all the players, coaches and staff,” Mehta said. “No decisions are made on anything related to him. As for David.” [Blitzer] As indicated, this is literally day two for me.”

So, there is no answer today as to who will be the head coach when the puck drops in September. And no, we don’t know the level of urgency to lock down some key pending free agents.

However, we will soon find out.

Worth noting is that when he was asked who he wanted to be like as GM, Mehta said, “I want to be like Sunny Mehta.”

In a copycat league, that’s definitely the right mindset to have going into this position.

expense for cap

The story is that the Devils owners are cheap and don’t spend where necessary.

Uh, have you seen the net worth of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Enterprises?

With Devils co-owner David Blitzer in attendance, he answered the question everyone, including Mehta, wanted to hear.

In fact, Mehta sat on his chair as soon as he heard the answer. There is no bond on the new Devils GM. He is free to spend as he sees fit.

“It’s fair to say that we intend to spend up to the limit,” Blitzer explained.

We’ll see how it looks in the offseason. However, this is not the strongest crop of free agents. This does not mean that Mehta cannot work for top talents in the trade market. It is interesting to note that there is no restriction on this.

However, Mehta’s gutted reaction to Blitzer’s answer was obvious. It’s clear he’s excited to scout the Devils roster and put his fingerprints on it.

familiar territory

Yes, Mehta grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey, after moving to the Garden State at the age of four. Sure, he played high school hockey in Ramapo, New Jersey.

However, that’s not why Mehta is in familiar territory as the Devils’ new GM.

Mehta arrived in the Florida Panthers organization in 2020 as vice president of hockey strategy and an analyst. The Panthers were still in turmoil. They finished the season with a 35–26–8 record, and lost in the qualifying round of the playoffs during the second half of the COVID cutoff season.

However, since that time Mehta has helped the Panthers become two-time Stanley Cup champions. Still, not without some changes. Mehta is looking to do the same thing for the Devils.

“I see a lot of similarities [in New Jersey’s roster] Because when I got to Florida, they were going through some tough times recently,” Mehta said. “But they had some very talented players. There are some things we need to keep and some things we need to change.”

After consecutive first and second round exits, Mehta played a hand in sending key players Jonathan Huberdeau and McKenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk in a blockbuster deal.

That’s when the culture of Florida changed.

The Panthers then made their second appearance in the Finals, but ultimately lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023. And then, they became consecutive Stanley Cup champions in 2024 and 2025.

“I think the biggest thing is that I was already involved in that decision-making process, I was fortunate that I got a chance to work under my last boss, Bill Zito. Our backgrounds were a little different, in the sense that he went into law, I went into finance. But, he’s also a guy who grew up in hockey like me, and he’s also a guy who never played professionally. But I think that’s Bill’s biggest strength, and the fact that he’s a group of guys in Florida. Our biggest strength was the idea of having a diverse group of different people with hockey backgrounds and different perspectives. Bill did a phenomenal job of gathering those different perspectives and coming to a decision, and that’s what I intend to do here.

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls

New Jersey Devils win general manager free agent frenzy.

Sunny Mehta was named Devils GM on Thursday evening. Mehta wanted devils. And the devils wanted him.

The stars aligned with it.

Mehta, an analytical guru, will bring a fresh perspective to the position left by former GM Tom Fitzgerald. Said approach begins immediately.

The Devils have a long list of things to address ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft and free agent frenzy.

So, where does he start?

Decision on Sheldon Keefe and coaching staff

First and foremost, Mehta will have to decide whether Sheldon Keefe will remain as head coach.

Keefe made a case for himself during the 2025–26 regular season with a healthy Jack Hughes in the lineup. New Jersey went 14-10-1 after the Olympic break. Before Hughes’ injury, the Devils were 11–4–1. If you remove the sandwich from the season when Hughes was injured that’s a combined 104-point pace.

Did he rely sufficiently on the powers of New Jersey? Certainly not when Hughes was out, nor when he was less than 100%.

The question becomes, can they get enough value from the rest of their roster if Hughes gets injured again in the future?

It depends on Mehta.

The rest of the coaching staff is also not in trouble. The power play and penalty kill were mediocre. The goaltender, namely Jacob Markstrom, was hit or miss – and most of the time, Markstrom missed.

Most, if not all, of the support staff were working on expiring contracts. Mehta will soon evaluate the work and decide whether to renew or not.

strengthen his cabinet

Mehta joins fellow assistant general managers Martin Brodeur, Dan MacKinnon and Kate Madigan.

It is unlikely that Brodeur—perhaps the most famous devil of all time—will be relieved of his duties. However, would Mehta want to surround himself with forward thinkers like him?

These are decisions that can come later. We know there are GM positions open in Nashville, Toronto, and as of this morning, Vancouver.

With only so many positions to fill, candidates can remain in their current roles, or look for something new if they wish.

Would Jamie Langenbrunner like to work for the organization he used to captain? How about Brett Pietersen? Does he want to continue working with Mehta after working together with the Florida Panthers?

If true change is going to happen, bringing in like-minded managers like Mehta will definitely turn things around.

Evaluate the scouting department

Fitzgerald has a poor track record in the draft.

They performed well alongside names like Luke Hughes, Lenny Haminaho and potential stud goaltender Mikhail Yegorov.

Simon Nemec is still in question as to his draft status, but it looks like this could work out. However, players like Logan Cooley and Cutter Gauthier—who had just scored 40 goals—were there for the taking. An argument can be made that he still misses out on the second overall pick in 2022.

And that’s exactly it. A large number of upsets and misses by Fitzgerald in key draft positions, such as when he selected Alexander Holtz and Chase Stillman, have hurt today’s roster.

What is depth scoring? Well, substitute Logan Stankoven for Stillman or Seth Jarvis for Holtz and maybe you’ll find out.

Mehta needs scouts he can trust to find gems outside the first handful of players. And he knows how to find them himself, advocating for Jesper Bratt when the Devils drafted him in 2016, when Mehta was head of the analytics department.

Sort out the major pending free agents

The Devils have three major contract issues they can address this summer.

Two, they have no choice. Arseniy Gritsyuk is a pending restricted free-agent. He is another man who chose to come to the devils and the devils chose to have him. His first NHL season after making a name for himself in the KHL was spectacular. In fact, it got so good, even Jack Hughes sees it as an original part.

He loves New Jersey, and New Jersey loves him. This should be easy to solve.

Perhaps the namecheck will be a little more difficult to sort out. The 22-year-old defenseman took a step forward this season, but you can still see where he lacks.

Offensively, the touch is there. He scored 11 goals in 68 games this season and found a clutch level the Devils could use.

However, there are still questions over his play defensively. It is reported that he could start by asking for a contract similar to Luke. Sure, he won’t be able to do that, but how far can Mehta bring down Namek and his camp?

And, of course, the captain needs a new deal on July 1, 2027. Does Mehta want to let that narrative continue for an entire season? Find out how far Hischier does or doesn’t want to commit to New Jersey and that decision will be made as soon as possible. The longer this goes on, the worse it will be for the devils.

address dougie hamilton

And finally, Mehta will have to address the Dougie Hamilton situation.

The Devils defenseman has not spoken publicly since December 17, when speculation arose that he had rejected a trade, and then allegations of a trade being made public by his agent.

It was later confirmed that Hamilton declined a deal that would have sent him to the San Jose Sharks.

It seems quite clear that Hamilton is unhappy with the current situation. Can Mehta improve it?

Or, does it give him a reason to move out of the $9 million cap hit that will give him the flexibility he needs to be a top-six forward?

One thing is certain. Clarity is needed with Hamilton. Either he is staying or he is going. Any uncertainty will only increase tension.

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls