- Sunny Mehta held his introductory press conference Tuesday at Prudential Center
- The new Devils GM says Martin Brodeur “got completely hosed” on the 2003 Conn Smythe
- Read below for Mehta’s Jersey roots, his Florida run, and what’s next in Newark
Sunny Mehta didn’t waste any time taking a stand on behalf of Devils fans.
The new New Jersey general manager held his introductory press conference Tuesday at Prudential Center, and 2003 came up in a hurry. Mehta was in the building for Game 7 that June when the Devils beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for the franchise’s third Stanley Cup. He still hasn’t let go of what happened with the Conn Smythe Trophy that night.
“I actually went to Game 7 in 2003,” Mehta said. “Marty got completely hosed on the Conn Smythe. It should not have been (J-S Giguère).”
Giguère is still one of the only players to win Conn Smythe on a losing team. Martin Brodeur put up three shutouts and a 1.65 goals-against average against Anaheim across seven games and walked away with the Stanley Cup instead of the individual hardware.
Mehta was hired April 16 to replace Tom Fitzgerald, who was let go earlier this month. The 48-year-old grew up 20 miles from Newark and worked with the Devils from 2014 to 2018 as their director of hockey analytics before jumping to the Florida Panthers in 2020.
His fingerprints are all over Florida’s back-to-back Cup runs. Mehta was promoted to assistant general manager and director of analytics in 2022 and held that seat through the 2024 and 2025 championship years. He’s brought the Cup home to New Jersey twice as a Panthers exec, and now he’s trying to do it in a Devils jersey.
The Devils finished 42-37-3 and seventh in the Metropolitan this season, missing the playoffs with a core built around Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt. They haven’t won a playoff series since the 2023 first round.
Mehta said every player, coach and staffer is under evaluation, including head coach Sheldon Keefe. He’s already had at least one conversation with everyone in the building.
“I’m extremely optimistic about this team,” Mehta said, per NHL.com. “We have a lot of talented players, and I really, truly believe that these talented players are about to hit an inflection point.”
Taking Brodeur’s side on a 23-year-old Conn Smythe debate was a nice way to prove he’s a Devils fan first. The actual work starts now.
