Wouldn’t it make more sense for the Devils to hire “a hockey guy” to rebuild this team?
Ever since Lou Lamoriello left the New Jersey Devils to run the Toronto Maple Leafs after 28 years of great service, everything has been different for this once-proud organization. Plenty of losing. Lack of defense. Awful goaltending. Departures of players and head coaches. Now they’ve hired a geek, Sunny Mehta, as its new General Manager.
Sunny Mehta (photo courtesy NY Times)
I found the news out on X. My reactions were “Huh!” and “Who?” Turns out that Mehta was the analytics guy in the Florida Panthers front office. Earlier, he was the director of analytics when he worked for the Devils.
Only in today’s world would those roles qualify anyone to be an NHL head manager. In the geek world, a hire like this will leverage advanced analytics to make data-driven decisions for competitive advantage. (Wonk. Wonk.)
But let’s face facts. Running the Devils based on analytics, a priority for the Devils’ owners, Joshua Harris and David Blitzer, is the same approach the two have used to lead the Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Commanders. (Wonk. Wonk. Neither franchise is a leading light in its respective pro sport.)
Before anyone says, “It can work, look at the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox!” let’s also recognize that those clubs spend money on free agency and trades to get the best players, helping camouflage mistakes when analytic moves don’t work out.
The Devils need an executive who has a feel for the game.
The Devils need a general manager who once played in the NHL and can relate to and with players.
The Devils need an executive who understands defense and goaltending.
Mehta, on the other hand, will have to earn respect from players because he doesn’t walk through the front door with gravitas that comes with having been there and having done that.
Ron Francis was more qualified to operate them than a fanboy who was once a poker player and musician. Francis built a powerhouse in the Carolina Hurricanes and a competent Seattle Kraken team. He would have been the right choice for a team that clearly needs direction after losing its way.
In fairness to Mehta, he paid his dues with the Panthers and has moved up in the hockey world. That could work for a small-market franchise. But “small” is not the Devils. That said, the Mets (also not small) hired David Stearns, who never played the game and who makes calls based on what spreadsheets tell him.
You can argue that Mehta has been in management when teams excelled, and the Panthers are an example. But he was in a small chair job, not in the big chair. As assistant general manager, Mehta did not have to deal with players or grapple with scouting.
Hockey is not AI because building a winner comes with having a special set of eyes and skillfulness in finding talent and “the intangibles,” including character, guts, and guile.
Quite frankly, I’m not sure Mehta even knows what he has gotten himself into. The Devils’ owners don’t seem to care about this hockey team enough to even know the type of pushback this hire offers. They only use hockey as a portfolio to show how many sports teams they can own. Plus, they bought the team to own the land at Prudential Center, where they can control everything.
Maybe the fans don’t care, either, but the players do. They are the ones sacrificing their bodies and minds to play a grueling sport. This hire certainly will get them thinking.
One thing’s for sure. A bold hire will be great or awful, as there won’t be an in-between. Odds are that it will apply to Mehta.
Who among us sees “great” in the cards?
