Panthers assistant general manager Sunny Mehta hired to lead Devils' front office

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald on Apr 16, 2026

Published in Hockey

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

SUNRISE, Fla. — After years of continuity in the Florida Panthers’ front office, Bill Zito will be seeing some changes around him.

The New Jersey Devils on Thursday named Sunny Mehta as their new general manager. Mehta, who grew up in New Jersey, spent six seasons in the Panthers’ front office, including the past three as one of Florida’s three assistant general managers and the team’s head of analytics.

“This is a dream come true for a New Jersey kid, who grew up watching Devils’ practices just 20 minutes away in Totowa,” Mehta said in a press release by the Devils announcing the hire. “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, originally joined the Panthers in 2020 as the team’s vice president of hockey strategy and intelligence and has been an instrumental part of Florida’s management group that led the Panthers to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025. While analytics are his strong point, Mehta collaborated with management and coaching staff on amateur player and free agent evaluation, trade deadline opportunities, and roster decisions.

Mehta’s NHL management career began with the Devils, so this is a full-circle moment for him. He was named the Devils’ director of hockey analytics in 2014 and was part of the first wave of analytics-focused executives who joined front offices. While with New Jersey in that first stint, he established the NHL’s first full-time analytics department, bringing a data-centric approach to scouting, draft preparation and player evaluation.

After a four-year stint in New Jersey, Mehta worked as a consultant for the Washington Capitals during the 2019-20 season before joining the Panthers.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Sunny and his wife, Nicole, back home to New Jersey,” Devils managing partner David Blitzer said in a press release. “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.”

Zito, speaking at the Panthers’ end-of-season press conference on Thursday, mentioned that he believes all three of his assistant general managers — Mehta, Gregory Campbell and Brett Peterson — are ready to handle being full-time general managers should the opportunity arise for them.

“We’re really blessed,” Zito said. “I’m the guy up here standing and talking to you guys, but I think everybody knows this is a collective and team effort, and everybody contributes to this thing. I think it’s great. I mean, I got a chance. Everyone in this room probably got a chance. Someone lets you continue to rise in your industry and your profession to the spot that you hold, and probably someone helped you. So for me, it’s a source of pride. I think it reflects on the Panthers overall, on how we do things and what we are, and it’s flattering individually. I think all three of our AGMs are ready.”

Mehta is the first of those three getting that opportunity.