When he took over as general manager of the New Jersey Devils, Sunny Mehta walked into what can only be characterized as one of the most favorable and complex situations in the NHL.
On one hand, Mehta inherits all the talent in the world, and on the other, he inherits some bad contracts, a decent amount of roster holes, and a challenge to keep the aforementioned talent.
One of those players is none other than Devils captain Nico Hischier, who is eligible to sign a highly-anticipated extension with the Devils on July 1.
Hischier, 27, has one year remaining on his current contract at a $7.25 million cap hit, and for those who think the Devils might have to trade Hischier, he has a 10-team no-trade list. That shouldn't be prohibitive on the NHL trade market for a player of his caliber, but still worth noting nonetheless.
Regarding a potential extension, Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News reports that Mehta has already had a preliminary phone call with Hischier's agent, Allain Roy, who has many Devils or Devils-adjacent clients.
I have been told an introductory phone call between #NJDevils GM Sunny Mehta and Nico Hischier's agent has already taken place.
— Kristy Flannery (@InStilettos_NHL) April 27, 2026
"More to come." https://t.co/2pTfTGTA5k
Nico HIschier's contract is a key offseason contribution for Sunny Mehta
Others represented by Roy include Brenden Dillon, Jonas Siegenthaler, Mikael Diotte, Jake Allen, and Dennis Cholowski. He also represents former Devils Akira Schmid, Ryan Graves, and Justin Dowling as well.
"On Monday, The Hockey News learned that an introductory phone call between Mehta and Hischier’s agent had already taken place, and there will be 'more to come,'" Flannery reported.
It is not overly surprising that Mehta needed a call with Roy, even for non-Hischier purposes. Roy has only two clients currently with the Florida Panthers: forward Ben Steeves and defenseman Marek Alscher. Goalie Anthony Stolarz, who was with Mehta and the Panthers in 2023-24, has been in Toronto for the last two seasons and only spent one year in Florida.
The most encouraging thing here, though, is that Mehta is not lounging around and making himself comfortable with the Stanley Cup playoffs still going on and a few months to the start of the offseason. The new Devils GM is being proactive instead of reactive, at least early on, and that is a big contrast to predecessor Tom Fitzgerald.
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