How the Maple Leafs Were Ambushed by the Devils for Sunny Mehta
The New Jersey Devils made what looked like a premature move near the end of the regular season when they fired president of hockey operations and general manager Tom Fitzgerald with five games to play.
Now, we're getting a little more insight into that peculiar move from insider Elliotte Friedman. Appearing on NHL Network's Morning Skate, he explains that the Devils felt compelled to move quickly in order to get their man, Sunny Mehta.
And it was essentially the Toronto Maple Leafs' public statements by MLSE CEO Keith Pelley that triggered the Devils into action. Pelley put it out there that the Leafs were looking for a "data-centric" person to fill their new GM opening, and it became clear soon after that Mehta was a prime target of theirs.
The thing that's interesting about that is I don't think New Jersey was going to make their change (firing of Fitzgerald) until the end of the season. And then they did. I think they knew that Toronto was interested, and then they were like, ‘Nope, he’s our guy.’
I heard that the Devils had either reached out or asked for permission for interviews with other people. And then when Toronto's interest got out, they were like, ‘No, we’re just ending this search, and he’s our guy.’
—Elliotte Friedman on NHL Network Radio
The Devils knew all about Mehta, the Florida Panthers' Director of Analytics and assistant GM, and that he was their top choice. Mehta is a hometown guy, growing up in nearby Totowa, N.J.
They had him targeted, and once the Leafs' desires got out, they needed to pounce quickly. Pelley's news conference was on March 31st, and less than a week later, once it became clear that Mehta was a serious Toronto target, the Devils fired Fitzgerald and put their move on their No. 1 choice.
The Devils performed far under expectations this past regular season, and missed the playoffs for the second time in three years. Mehta, as the new GM, will be tasked with turning the team around.
