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Report: Maple Leafs, Devils receive permission to interview Sunny Mehta
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Photo credit: Richard Perry/The New York Times
Michael Mazzei
Apr 9, 2026, 10:25 EDTUpdated: Apr 9, 2026, 10:23 EDT
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The Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils have reportedly received permission to conduct an interview with Florida Panthers assistant GM Sunny Mehta, according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun.
“Which is why it’s no surprise, according to league sources, that both the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs have asked and received permission from the Panthers to speak with assistant general manager Sunny Mehta, whose name has been all the rage of late, especially in the Toronto market,” LeBrun wrote. “As head of analytics for the Cup champs, his background fits a big part of the profile for both the Devils and Leafs.”
The connection between the Leafs and Mehta as a potential candidate to replace Brad Treliving as GM has grown steadily in recent days. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday Headlines that Mehta was going to be a factor in Toronto’s search, while later adding that their interest in the Panthers’ AGM is real. After Sportsnet’s Luke Fox reported that the Leafs had hired Neil Glasberg and The Coaches Agency to conduct their search, it was quickly revealed that one of Glasberg’s clients was none other than Mehta.
MLSE CEO Keith Pelley admitted during his presser on Tuesday that one of the primary criteria that the Leafs are looking for as the successor to Treliving is that the new GM has to be ‘data-centric,’ and Mehta certainly meets that description. While his background before becoming a hockey executive is unconventional, given his status as a legendary poker player and the author of a best-selling book on the sport, his superior understanding of math and the salary cap has played a role in the Panthers’ two-straight Stanley Cups.
The Leafs Nation’s Arun Srinivasan made a compelling case for why the Leafs should target Mehta to be their next GM, writing the following:
Pelley wants to win above all, and Mehta has been remarkably successful in every avenue of his career. In some respects, you could almost liken him to Ernie Adams, the shadowy director of football intelligence for the New England Patriots, who operated as Bill Belichick’s man in the sky throughout the dynasty years. It will be an exhaustive search, and Mehta is the perfect balance between Traditional Hockey Executive, and an unconventional, progressive thinker who could help the Maple Leafs eventually reach their goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
The Devils parted ways with Tom Fitzgerald on Monday, so the fact that they are already requesting an interview with Mehta suggests he is high on their list. Their interest in Mehta makes sense given the fact that he not only grew up a fan of the Devils, but also previously worked with the organization as the head of the NHL’s first analytics department from 2014 to 2018. It is worth noting that Devils co-owner David Blitzer was the person who initially hired Mehta, and TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Blitzer has “got a lot of time” for Mehta’s work with the Panthers.
With the Devils also entering the picture to pursue the services of Mehta, the Leafs will need to act quickly if they want to hire him as the replacement for Treliving.

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