The New Jersey Devils ended speculation by landing Sunny Mehta as their next GM. It would be a stretch to call this move a surprise. Ever since Mehta’s name hit the airwaves, it was pretty clear that he was the no-brainer choice for the Devils’ opening.
That said, Mehta is a fine choice. He was in high demand across the league for good reason. But his strong resume will face an early challenge once he settles into the GM chair.
The Mehta-verse’s first major issue will be what to do about Dougie Hamilton. The Hamilton saga took up much of Tom Fitzgerald’s bandwidth this season. As such, Mehta will need to address this issue for good.
That situation opens the door to two possibilities.
Firstly, Mehta will just go ahead and trade Hamilton. He’s the new sheriff in town. So, he holds no allegiances to anyone. While Mehta won’t come in guns blazing, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him just cut the cord and make the deal.
Fans wouldn’t hold it against Mehta if he jettisoned Hamilton to any team that would take him for a bag of pucks and a pair of goalie pads. As long as Mehta can clear Hamilton’s full cap hit, fans would be relieved.
Secondly, Mehta can have a heart-to-heart with Hamilton and his representation. That conversation may lead to a renewed commitment between Hamilton and the organization. In that event, it could mean Hamilton running out his contract in New Jersey.
The latter alternative, however, would pose a serious risk for the Mehta administration. If Hamilton does not play up to expectations, it could lead to a hastened mid-season trade. That’s why the best option would be to move Hamilton now, in the offseason, sidestepping a potential pitfall altogether.
Mehta likely wielding big stick for Devils
Mehta will likely begin his mandate with a big stick. The organization should be open to giving Mehta as much power as is reasonable. That power should enable the first-time GM to flush out the problematic contracts that clogged up the works this season.
Hamilton’s contract was certainly the most notorious one. There’s also the matter of Jacob Markstrom. The Devils' goalie has two more years on his current deal at $6 million. That’s why Mehta will need to figure out if Markstrom still has a place on the club.
If not, the Devils could be in the market for another goaltender this offseason.
Then, there’s the case of Maxim Tsyplakov. The Russian winger came over in the Ondrej Palat deal as a cap dump by the New York Islanders. He’s owed $2.5 million next season. Now, Tsyplakov cleared waivers at the end of the season. But even burying his cap hit in the AHL would come at a cost.
It’s unlikely that anyone will want to take on Tsyplakov’s contract. But then again, perhaps a team like the Chicago Blackhawks may be willing to acquire his contract just to make the salary cap floor.
Lastly, various other contracts could go out the door. For instance, Connor Brown might be on the block. Nick Bjugstad and Brenden Dillon may also become available for the right price. Although it’s worth pointing out that the rising cap might give Mehta a little breathing room.
That’s why it will be interesting to see what direction the new Devils GM takes once he’s ready to pull the trigger.
Add us as a preferred source on Google