Devils introduce poker-playing GM who embraces chance to turn franchise around: ‘No one’s happy’

He has already had coffee with star Jack Hughes and spoken with captain Nico Hischier, he said. Conversations have already been had with head coach Sheldon Keefe, as well, but there was no guarantee given by Mehta that Keefe, who just finished his second season, will return. This was the first season that Keefe has missed the playoffs in his coaching career.

“We have a lot of talented players,” Mehta said, “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.”

Fitzgerald worked with the Devils for 11 seasons, with six of them as general manager. While the team beat the Rangers in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, the Devils failed to return to the post-season the next spring despite heightened expectations. This season’s 42-37-3 record led to his departure.

“We did feel it was time to make a change at the top, and I sat down with Tom about two weeks ago, and we both made the decision to part ways,” Blitzer said. “I wish him all the best with his next endeavors.”

While the Fitzgerald era is over, Mehta is now sifting through the remains and considering the contracts that he must negotiate to improve the on-ice performance. He has already started polishing his pitch of the New Jersey as a “no-brainer destination” to free agents, and the importance of undergoing a methodical process for the NHL Draft as he mines for more talent to complement Hughes and Hischier, whose contract expires after next season. Numbers will be run through his system as he weighs his next bets.

“Data does undoubtedly give a huge advantage in hockey in terms of projecting future performance of players,” Mehta said, “but you have to understand all those same things: the character, the locker room, the culture, the intangibles. All that stuff matters.”

While analytics are a large part of his makeup, there is also the personal motivation of coming home. Two years ago, when he brought the Stanley Cup back to Ramapo High, his alma mater, in Franklin Lakes, he recalled the interactions with local supporters. Once a Raider who skated at Sport-O-Rama in Monsey, N.Y. he returned with hockey’s greatest trophy. A celebratory event was held in the auditorium, where members of the school community feted him and posed for photographs with the Cup.

“As happy as everybody was, I definitely got a lot of chirps that, ‘you’re bringing this here with Florida, why don’t you bring this here with New Jersey?’” he said. “I’ve kept that in the back of my mind.”

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