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The New Jersey Devils are in search of a new general manager and possibly a President of Hockey Operations. The team is considering whether to hire one individual for both roles or two separate candidates as they restructure their hockey operations leadership.
SUNRISE, FLORIDA - JUNE 24: Sunny Mehta and Bryan McCabe of the Florida Panthers celebrate their Stanley Cup victory in Game Seven of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on June 24, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The New Jersey Devils are searching for a new general manager.
They also may be looking for a separate, new President of Hockey Operations.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Devils hire one person to handle both roles or if theyâll have two people work together as they restructure their leadership in the hockey ops department. Either way, the Devils will likely cast a wide net as they try to determine who the best person or people are to lead them moving forward.
Almost immediately upon the news of Tom Fitzgeraldâs dismissal, Greg Wyshynski said on Twitter to expect to hear a lot of Brendan Shanahan to the Devils discussion. Pierre LeBrun reported that the Devils received permission to speak to Panthers AGM Sunny Mehta. Elliotte Friedman also linked Tyler Dellow, John Chayka, and Jamie Langenbrunner to the Devils.
Presumably, other candidates will become known as the candidates interview and want to make it known that theyâre interviewing for the Devils job. Once they do, we can discuss their merits, what they bring to the table, and whether or not the Devils should consider hiring them.
For now though, I think its worth taking a look at the candidates that we do know about, their strengths, and their potential flaws.
Shanahan has deep ties to the Devils organization, as he was their 2nd overall pick way back in 1987. He wound up playing five of the 21 seasons of his Hall of Fame playing career in New Jersey, won three Stanley Cups as a player with the Detroit Red Wings, and was named one of the NHLâs 100 greatest players in 2018.
Since retirement, he has carved out an impressive career as an executive. Heâs worked for the league as a senior VP and oversaw the Department of Player Safety prior to joining the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2014 as their president, overseeing hockey operations.
Shanahan had a direct hand in Torontoâs last rebuild. After jettisoning the coaching staff and most of the front office, he brought in Mike Babcock as head coach, Lou Lamoriello as the GM, and Kyle Dubas as an assistant GM. It should also be noted that the Maple Leafs have one of the largest analytics departments in the NHL thanks in part to Shanahan. The Maple Leafs drafted Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Both players would become key core members of the Maple Leafs, along with 2014 8th overall pick William Nylander, 2012 5th overall pick Morgan Rielly, and prized free agent signing John Tavares in 2018.
Toronto returned to the playoffs in 2016-17 and became a consistent playoff team under Shanahanâs leadership right up until his departure from the organization after the 2024-25 season. The problem with Shanahan, and Toronto in general, was their inability to get over the hump. Toronto only made it to the second round twice.
Itâs tough to say where the blame for Torontoâs playoff failures ultimately lies, and I would understand if one wanted to pin that on Shanahan as he ultimately oversaw everything. But I do think its worth looking deeper into their losses.
Toronto got knocked out of the playoffs three times by Boston, twice by Florida, and once by Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup that year. Florida reached the Cup Final both times and won once. Boston reached a Cup Final in 2019. Even in the other years, the Leafs ran into a Montreal team that also reached a Cup Final, a Capitals team where Braden Holtby posted a .925 save percentage, and a Columbus team where Joonas Korpisalo posted a .956. Iâm not saying that Torontoâs losses werenât deserved as there were plenty of questionable games here and there throughout that run, but between getting goalieâd and simply running into better teams, I do think thereâs some aspect of bad luck involved as to why they failed to get over the hump.
Toronto would wind up changing just about everything other than the core. Sheldon Keefe replaced Babcock. Craig Berube would wind up replacing Keefe. Lamoriello would leave for the Islanders job, which saw Dubas promoted. Dubas would ultimately be dismissed and replaced by Brad Treliving. The supporting cast around the core was consistently shuffled in and out. Futures were constantly traded for the sake of winning now, except Toronto never won now. Marner eventually became the one core member who was the odd man out, leaving this past offseason in a sign-and-trade with Vegas. And for what its worth, in Torontoâs first year post-Shanahan, the bottom fell out. Toronto missed the playoffs, Treliving has been fired, and Craig Berube is likely to follow.
Shanahan might have ultimately stuck with the Maple Leafs core too long, but part of me wonders how much of that was him personally being attached to them and how much of it was decision making coming from above him at MLSE. Part of me wonders how much being in the pressure cooker of the Toronto market and the subsequent dysfunction as a result impacted things with the team. Itâs tough to say since its speculative, but between that and the lack of playoff success, its not a positive mark on his resume.
That said, I do think thereâs a lot of good under Shanahanâs watch that canât be ignored. The Leafs continued to hit on their fair share of draft picks over the years (whether or not they held on to said players is another story). Toronto went 408-214-78 between 2016-25, topping 100 points six times in nine seasons. The floor of what that team has been was high, and certainly higher than anything the Devils have done consistently since their run to the Cup Final in 2012. Shanahan has deep connections throughout the league between his time as a player and executive. I wouldnât consider him personally to be analytically-driven, but I do think thereâs something to the idea of knowing what you donât know and hiring smart people. Kyle Dubas was one of Shanahanâs first hires and heâs gone on to help the Penguins return to the playoffs. I donât know what the upside would ultimately be, but the Devils could certainly do a lot worse hiring a CEO-type than Shanahan, and Iâve yet to see a better alternative option in this cycle.
If the Devils hire Shanahan, they wonât have to build a core like he did in Toronto as the core is more or less already in place. He also wonât necessarily be as attached to the players as Fitzgerald might have been. I would suspect that Shanahan, the presumptive new President of Hockey Ops, would ultimately let whoever the GM is figure out what players to move on from and who they should keep to build around, but a lot of the legwork in terms of building the roster is already done.
There probably isnât a hotter candidate in this GM cycle than Panthers AGM Sunny Mehta.
Mehta, who was born in Michigan but grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey, is a name that should be familiar to most Devils fans. He was hired in 2014 to as the Devils director of hockey analytics and created the first full-time analytics department in the NHL.
If youâre looking for a GM who can potentially find diamonds in the rough, maximize the draft, and win on the margins, Mehta is a strong choice.
While with the Devils in 2016, Mehtaâs model had Jesper Bratt ranked as the #3 player in that yearâs draft class. Fast forward a decade later and only four players from that class have had more points in the NHL than BrattâŠ.#1 overall pick Auston Matthews, former lottery picks Matthew Tkachuk and Clayton Keller, and second rounder Alex DeBrincat.
Bratt went 162nd overall in the draft that season.
After leaving the Devils, he joined the Florida Panthers in 2020 and worked his way up through their organization to earn the title of AGM. Mehta, under Panthers GM Bill Zito, had a hand in them acquiring many of the players who ultimately became key contributors on the team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups. The key being most of those acquisitions being of the unheralded at the time variety. Gus Forsling? Waiver claim. Carter Verhaeghe? A pending RFA who was not tendered a contract. Sam Bennett? Acquired for a second-round pick and the rights to Emil Heineman. Sam Reinhart? A first round pick and Devon Levi. The Panthers have done a good job on buying low on players like Evan Rodrigues, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Nate Schmidt, Niko Mikkola, and Dmitry Kulikov where they just fit in and play well. Of course, people will point to the Matthew Tkachuk trade being the move that put Florida over the top, and theyâre not wrong to do so, but Florida had a really good base off of which to work.
Bill Zito obviously deserves a ton of credit for what he has done in Florida, but it would be short-sighted to solely credit him. Mehta, along with the rest of the Florida braintrust, has had a big part in that as well. And everyone in Florida knows that. Paul Maurice has given Mehta his flowers, as has Zito. Mehta has earned the respect of that organization for his ability to present the data in a manner that is digestible for the players and coaching staff to understand. Thereâs a reason why heâs high on Torontoâs and Nashvilleâs lists as well to be their next potential GM.
Times were different back in the 2014-2018 window that Mehta was with the Devils, as they were transitioning from the end of the Lou Lamoriello era to the Ray Shero era, so its tough to say how much influence Mehta actually had with the Devils. I already mentioned the Jesper Bratt pick, but keep in mind, the Devils passed on him seven times in that draft. They took players like Brandon Gignac, Mikhail Maltsev, Evan Cormier, and Yegor Rykov over him. Knowing what we know now, that would never happen again. That said, hitting on late picks like that is what separates good teams from the great teams. The Devils did eventually take Mehtaâs recommendation and make the pick, and Bratt is the last man standing from the Devils 2016 draft class that is still in the organization.
I donât know how much I would read into the rumors that there was a âfalling outâ with Mehta and the Devils and whether or not it even matters though. Ray Shero is no longer with us, Tom Fitzgerald is no longer with the organization, the Devils reportedly have a lot of front office staff on expiring deals, and Mehta would presumably bring in his own people that are more closely aligned with his vision.
The one potential knock I could see with Mehta is that he would be a first-time GM. Fitzgerald was a first-time GM and that really didnât work out the way the Devils hoped. I think that matters to an extent but if it were a disqualifier, weâd run out of GM candidates really quickly as everybody is a âfirst timerâ at some point.
Iâm not in the room, so its tough to say what exactly Mehta is doing when heâs not looking at his model or spreadsheets. But he strikes me as a sharp guy given his background and what we know about him. Iâm sure he has built up some relationships around the league in his time as an AGM simply from working the phones and talking to people. Iâm sure he knows who to call and what to do if he has to make a trade. I know I like to pretend Iâm an expert but I wouldnât know those things if I got hired as the GM tomorrow. Mehta has put in the time as an AGM and worked his way up for an opportunity like this.
I wouldnât say the Devils should hire Mehta solely because he grew up in New Jersey as a Devils fan. I wouldnât say they should hire him because heâs already worked here. I wouldnât say they should hire him because he brought the Stanley Cup back to Jersey when he had his day with the Cup. But I do think he understands this market and this fanbase. He understands what the expectation is and he wonât be too attached to the pieces already in place to not make the changes he deems necessary.
Ideally, Iâd prefer to pair him with an experienced President of Hockey Ops who has those relationships around the league, but thatâs also not a dealbreakerâŠ..you can accomplish the same thing with a good AGM hire. Either way, Mehta would be my #1 choice, barring an unforeseen candidate entering the fray.
Of course, Mehta isnât the only analytically-driven candidate with ties to the Devils that could be in the mix to be their next general manager.
Dellow was with the Devils for five seasons as their Senior VP of hockey strategy and analytics before leaving the organization two years ago to joins another data-driven executive in Eric Tulsky in Carolina as their AGM.
At least in the regular season, Carolina had been a successful organization over most of the last decade. The Hurricanes have reached the conference final three times since 2018-19 and have won a playoff round in seven of the last eight seasons. A lot of that predates Dellow, but seeing as the Devils have plucked from the Carolina tree a few times over the last few seasons in terms of players (Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, Stefan Noesen), it wouldnât be surprising if they did so again to âbring home one of their ownâ.
J.P Gambatese did a good breakdown on his Substack on Carolinaâs transactions since Dellow has come aboard, and the two things that stand out to me are Carolinaâs tendency to buy low on players and their track record of below market value contracts. Seeing as Dellow has been managing the salary cap for Carolina and weâre coming off of a Tom Fitzgerald regime where the cap was mismanaged, that actually matters a lot. Aside from Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who predates Dellow, Iâm not sure thereâs a bad contract on Carolinaâs books.
Like with Mehta, itâs tough to say how much influence Dellow has had on transactions between his time in New Jersey and Carolina. Dellow was with the Devils when they pulled off trades like the acquisitions of Tyler Toffoli, Timo Meier, and John Marino. He was with Carolina when they acquired, and traded away, Mikko Rantanen.
I donât view the Devils salary cap situation as dire, but I do think they need more flexibility in the coming years. Especially if they wind up extending Nico Hischier, if they intend on being players for Quinn Hughes, or both. Theyâll get some cap flexibility organically after next season with seven players on the NHL roster slated for UFA, but those players will need to be replaced. In that respect, I appreciate Dellowâs work in getting some of Carolinaâs key players to sign what will surely be below market value deals while simultaneously not overpaying their depth players.
Dellow would also be another first-time GM, so like with Mehta, Iâd prefer to pair him with someone with a bit more experience if that were to be the direction that the Devils want to go in. I also think with Dellow, thereâs a small added bonus of him being in Carolina. Given how the Hurricanes have owned the Devils the last few seasons, he probably has some insights as to why thatâs the case, what Carolina (and other teams for that matter) is doing to slow the Devils down, and from a Devils perspective, what needs to be done to counter that.
Dellow isnât my first choice, but I do think heâs a strong candidate and I would not be upset if that is the direction the Devils choose to go in.
Of all of the known candidates, the only one with actual experience as an NHL general manager is John Chayka.
Hired by the Arizona Coyotes back in 2016, the analytically-driven Chayka made the playoffs once in four seasons as their GM before abruptly resigning in 2020. His tenure was marred by the illegal draft workout scandal that saw Arizona docked a first round draft pick and Chayka suspended from the league.
I think when it comes to Chayka, its important to remember how bad the Arizona situation was in general. Arizona had the worst ownership in the league, the worst arena situation in the league, and a small but diehard fanbase. They did not have a long track record of success before he got there and havenât had a ton of success since, although theyâre doing much better under better ownership in Utah nowadays. But back then, Arizona was not a free agency destination for those reasons. Thatâs not to excuse Chayka for his transgressions with the draft workouts or any shortcomings as a GM, but its worth mentioning just to give additional context to what he was up against.
I do think Chayka deserves some credit though. Clayton Keller was a home run of a pick for them at 7th overall in 2016 and they added Jacob Chychrun nine picks later. Other notable draft hits under Chaykaâs watch include Barrett Hayton, Kevin Bahl, Ty Emberson, and Matias Maccelli. He was there as the team oversaw the development of players like Lawson Crouse, Conor Garland and Adin Hill, among others. Chayka made the Dylan Strome for Nick Schmaltz trade. Arizona did go for it in 2020 with the acquisitions of Taylor Hall and Phil Kessel, but their âsuccessâ in 2020 was short-lived and they wound up undergoing a multi-year scorched earth rebuild under his successor Bill Armstrong.
Of course, this isnât the first time the Devils have tried to hire Chayka in some capacity.
There were reports a few years ago that Josh Harris and David Blitzer wanted to hire Chayka to oversee the analytics departments of all of the HBSE properties at the time, not just the Devils. Supposedly, Arizona didnât want him to take his job and between that and the hammer coming down with the aforementioned draft workout violations, that was what led to Chayka stepping down as Coyotes GM.
Again, I donât know that I necessarily hold it against Chayka that he was looking for an escape from Arizona. He knew the inner workings of that organization werenât good, that they were operating as a floor team for much of his tenure, and that the deck was stacked against him succeeding. I can get looking for any competitive edge where he can find one, but I wouldnât excuse the workout violations either. But he is a sharp mind and would certainly âfitâ what the Devils might be looking for when it comes to someone more data-driven. He has experience in knowing how the league operates. I also donât think he should necessarily be blackballed for the draft workouts. Not in a league that is willing to welcome back Stan Bowman or Joel Quenneville with open arms for transgressions that are FAR worse.
I do think Chayka could be better the second time around as a general manager in an organization with a lot less âstuffâ going on in the background. For all of their critiques, the Devils have stable ownership that has shown a willingness to spend to the cap ceiling. They have a stable arena situation. Theyâre also not a barren cupboard in terms of win now players that one can build around and prospects coming down the road. He wouldnât necessarily be my first choice for the Devils, and Gary Bettman would probably flip over a table the second a team tells him they want to hire John Chayka, but I could see him getting another shot again. I wouldnât even rule out it being in New Jersey given how close HBSE mightâve been to hiring him in the past. That said, I prefer the other candidates in this article over him.
Another name with Devils ties that is in the mix is their one-time former captain turned Bruins assistant GM, Jamie Langenbrunner.
After retiring from the NHL in 2014, Langenbrunner joined the Bruins organization in 2015 and started working his way up the ranks on the management side. He worked as the head of player development and has since been promoted to AGM. Heâs had a hand in helping develop prospects as long as identifying players who could help the Bruins if they were to get a larger role.
Those last few sentences are particularly notable as Langenbrunner has been in Boston for quite some time now. He got to work closely with David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy as they went from being former first round picks to players who ultimately reached their potential. Boston has been able to take guys such as Morgan Geekie off of the proverbial scrap heap and find another level to their game. They also identified players such as Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten who can thrive with a larger role. Obviously, Don Sweeney and new coach Marco Sturm deserve a lot of credit for Bostonâs turnaround this year, but Boston has generally been one of the more successful teams in the league since 2015. They reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2019, set an NHL record for points in a season with 135 in 2022-23, and have made the playoffs 8 of the last 9 years before returning to the playoffs this season. Langenbrunner has been a part of their success to some extent.
Some longtime Devils fans might take issue with Langenbrunner given the way he ultimately departed the organization as a player. Theyâll remember him having problems with legendary coach Jacques Lemaire. Theyâll remember the dip in his production in 2010-11. Theyâll remember a bunch of lifeless, lethargic performances from that season while he wore the captainâs âCâ. Theyâll remember him being one of the leaders of the Devils in the post-Scott Stevens and post-Stanley Cup winning teams era in general. Teams that ultimately came up short in the playoffs and particularly, the team that blew it in Game 7 against Carolina in 2009.
Itâs not my place to tell you how to you should feel about something that happened over 15 years ago at this point, but I at least understand if people donât want to deal with Langenbrunnerâs âbaggageâ after how things ended here. Fans have long memories and Langenbrunner, fairly or unfairly, probably wonât get nearly as much goodwill going in as some other candidates might. I also donât think it helps matters that Darren Dreger has mentioned that Martin Brodeurâs history with Langenbrunner is the connection to him being a candidate. Given that Martin Brodeurâs two biggest contributions to the Devils in his post-playing career are Dave Rogalski and the âJerseyâ jersey, that doesnât exactly inspire confidence.
That said, just because Martin Brodeur has endorsed a bad goaltending coach and has shown to have terrible fashion sense with the third jerseys doesnât necessarily mean heâs wrong when it comes to Langenbrunner. Langenbrunner is certainly as qualified as anyone interviewing for the position. Heâs paid his dues on the player development side and worked his way up. Heâs also a two-time Stanley Cup winning player who had a key role on two different championship teams by playing the game the right way. Iâm generally not a fan of hiring your âteam legendsâ, and using the term âlegendâ to describe Langenbrunner as it pertains to the Devils might be a bit of a stretch anyways. But he does know what it takes to win from his days as a player, and I donât think that should be outright dismissed either.
The article discusses various candidates but does not specify names, indicating that the Devils will explore a wide range of options.
The Devils are restructuring their leadership in the hockey operations department, necessitating a new general manager.
It is currently unclear whether the Devils will hire one individual for both roles or two separate individuals.
The Devils are expected to undergo a restructuring of their leadership, potentially impacting both the general manager and President of Hockey Operations roles.

Erik Spoelstra supports no further penalties for LaMelo Ball after flagrant foul.
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