Because of the amount of talented young players they have, the New Jersey Devils figure to be one of the most attractive openings for a prospective general manager heading into the NHL offseason. But, is that talent enough to lure a candidate away from a division rival?
By now, we have all heard a lot about Florida Panthers assistant GM Sunny Mehta, a former Devils analyst, as well as Brendan Shanahan, a former Devils forward and ex-Toronto Maple Leafs executive who may or may not sign on as president of hockey operations.
Another potential with Devils ties is none other than Carolina Hurricanes assistant GM Tyler Dellow, who, in fact, served as the Devils' director of analytics from 2019-20 to 2023-24.
While any inferences about Dellow's influence are purely speculative, it isn't exactly a surprise that 2024-25--the season that followed his departure--was one that saw the Devils heavily overcorrect their roster in response to a disappointing 2023-24 season.
Now-departed GM Tom Fitzgerald went out and added Jacob Markstrom, Brenden Dillon, Johnny Kovacevic, Paul Cotter, Stefan Noesen, and Brett Pesce to pursue a "playoff-style" brand of hockey.
So far, only Pesce, and maybe Dillon, have worked out, while Markstrom and Kovacevic earned themselves albatross contract extensions. The Devils, of course, returned to the playoffs after Dellow's departure in 2024-25, only for Dellow's Hurricanes to handily take care of business in five games in Round 1.
The Devils enjoyed the best season in franchise history back in 2022-23, which feels like ages ago, with Dellow in the organization. Again, purely speculative in regards to his actual impact, but all the best NHL teams have robust analytics departments, and there's a reason a division rival like the Hurricanes handed Dellow a promotion to join them.
Under Dellow, the Hurricanes have added players like Mikko Rantanen (subsequent flip notwithstanding), Sean Walker, Nikolaj Ehlers, Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven, William Carrier, and goalie Brandon Bussi.
All of those skaters test well in the eye of public analytic models, and Bussi, after being a career AHLer, is 30-6-1 for the Hurricanes this season.
If nothing else, the Devils need more of those lower-key player additions who aren't household names but still do all the little things that are conducive to success. In contract, most of Fitzgerald's Devils tenure was spent chasing big-name players whose best hockey was behind them and forcing them into roles that are invariably unsustainable.
If the last few years are any indication, Dellow has the minerals to get the Devils closer to what they were in 2022-23 and should certainly be a candidate in the same breath as Mehta, Shanahan, and Jamie Langenbrunner.