The New Jersey Devils announced today that the team has hired Sunny Mehta as its sixth general manager in team history.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Sunny and his wife, Nicole, back home to New Jersey,” said Devils’ Managing Partner David Blitzer. “We quickly realized this job was in high demand and were incredibly fortunate to meet with many qualified candidates. Sunny’s familiarity with our organization and experience with a two-time Stanley Cup-winning team are characteristics that will serve as a foundation for future success. Our expectations are to be a perennial playoff team and compete for the Stanley Cup, and I look forward to Sunny leading us there.”
“This is a dream come true for a New Jersey kid, who grew up watching Devils’ practices just 20 minutes away in Totowa,” said Mehta. “After meeting with David Blitzer, Josh Harris, Bob Myers, and other members of the organization, I knew this was the place I wanted to be. Thank you to Vinnie Viola, Bill Zito and the entire Florida Panthers organization for a fantastic six years and for the opportunity to take the next step in my professional career. New Jersey has a tremendous young core that will be looking to get back to being a contender, a complement of young assets and draft picks, and a passionate fan base hungry for success. I was fortunate enough to watch the New Jersey Devils raise three Stanley Cups and am excited to get to work to return to that level.”
Mehta, 48, joins New Jersey after spending six seasons with the Florida Panthers- the last three serving as assistant general manager and head of analytics. He originally joined the Panthers in 2020 as vice president of hockey strategy & intelligence. Mehta was a key part of the Florida management group that helped deliver back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025, making the team just the fourth in the last 30 years to achieve consecutive championships. While with Florida, Mehta collaborated with the management and coaching staff on amateur player and free agent evaluation, trade deadline opportunities, and roster decisions.
Mehta returns to the organization where he first started his NHL management career. He was part of the first wave of analytics-focused executives who joined front offices and established the NHL’s first full-time analytics department when he was named as Director of Hockey Analytics in 2014. Hired by David Blitzer, Josh Harris, and then-Devils’ President/General Manager Lou Lamoriello, Mehta brought a data-centric and process-oriented vision to support the team in scouting, draft preparation, and player evaluation. He spent four seasons in New Jersey, 2014-15 to 2017-18, under Lamoriello and, later, Ray Shero. His NHL front-office experience also includes consulting for the Washington Capitals during the 2019-20 season and the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010-11.
Mehta studied Jazz Guitar and Studio at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, where he graduated in 2000 and later received his master’s degree in data science from City University of New York. Following his graduation, he ventured out as a professional musician in New Orleans and later as a poker player in Las Vegas. Mehta has co-authored two best-selling books on poker strategy: Professional No-Limit Hold ‘Em, Volume 1 (2009) and Small Stakes No-Limit Hold ‘Em (2007).
Following his professional poker career, he served as a Proprietary Derivatives Trader at Peak6 Capital Management at the Chicago Board of Trade.
Born in Grand Rapids, MI, and raised in Wyckoff, NJ, Mehta played varsity hockey for Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes, NJ. He and his wife, Nicole, returned to Ramapo with the Stanley Cup in June of 2024.
