The Devils have actually looked competent lately.
They’ve won six of their last eight games and are scoring at a decent clip.
Alas, it’s all for nothing. According to Money Puck, New Jersey has a 0.3% chance to make the playoffs — bad enough for sixth worst in the entire NHL.
HAVE YOU JOINED OUR YOUTUBE PAGE? DEVILS REPORTER RYAN NOVOZINSKY BREAKS DOWN EVERY GAME — WITH YOUR HELP
All signs point toward a change in the front office after a disappointing season that began with so much promise.
Sign up for our Speaking of the Devils newsletter here! Get 10 inside-Devils notes in your inbox each Monday at 10 a.m. ET!
But who might they hire if they move on from general manager Tom Fitzgerald? Here are three candidates to ponder:
Sunny Mehta, Florida Panthers
Jersey’s team could use a Jersey-born GM — especially one with a resume like Sunny Mehta’s.
Mehta, a Wyckoff native, is currently the assistant GM of the Florida Panthers (where he won two Stanley Cups). He’s also a data scientist, former professional poker player, musician, two-time bestselling author — *catches breath* — and an options trader.
He’s the most interesting man in hockey — and he has Devils ties too, serving as director of hockey analytics for the team from 2014 to 2017.
He’d be a slam dunk hire to replace Fitzgerald.
John Chayka
This wouldn’t be the first time the Devils tried to hire John Chayka (allegedly…).
Chayka has not been an NHL GM in six years, and yet, because he was the youngest GM ever at one point, he’d still only be 36 years old if he took the Devils job this summer.
He resigned as Coyotes GM in July 2020 — just before their playoff qualifier — amid a pursuit of the Devils gig, according to ESPN. The Coyotes were reportedly angry at this because they considered it quitting on the team.
Can you really blame him though? That ownership group was a mess. All things considered, Chayka’s 131–147–38 record in his four seasons (plus Arizona’s first playoff berth in nearly eight seasons) was pretty good.
Chayka has a strong analytical brain — he founded Stathletes, a hockey analytics firm that tracks data through an intensive video analysis process — and would surely lean into the Devils’ skill.
Tyler Dellow, Carolina Hurricanes
Having worked in New Jersey’s front office last year before joining Carolina this past summer, Dellow would bring a mix of familiarity and a fresh perspective to the Devils.
Here’s what Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky — one of the most aggressive GMs in the league — had to say about him: “Tyler has an encyclopedic knowledge of hockey data and is both creative and detail-oriented in applying it to building understanding of performance and tactics.”
The Devils could sure use that.
