Sunny Mehta hasn’t been in charge of the New Jersey Devils for very long, as he was named the team’s new general manager on April 16, but he’s already going back on his word.
When the Devils’ general manager spoke to NHL.com’s Mike Monreale back in September, just over a month ago, “There are objective measures such as save percentage and wins, but this is also about allocating resources in a salary-cap league. Money spent in goal cannot be spent somewhere else,” Mehta told Monreale on September 20. “Because there is randomness at the position, I’m reluctant to invest significant assets there instead of in areas where the results may be more predictable.”
Now, not only did Mehta go back on his prior statement by swinging a massive trade to bring Olympic gold medalist Connor Hellebuyck to New Jersey, he also did it in the most unpredictable way possible by bringing in a 33-year-old signed through 2031.
A Down Season
Although Hellebuyck was phenomenal for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, helping them earn a gold medal over their Canadian counterparts, he struggled quite a bit compared to his normal standard during the NHL’s regular season. In 57 games, he recorded a .895 save percentage, down from a .925 the season before. He also allowed nearly an additional goal per game, as his goals against average jumped from 2.01 in the 2024-25 season to 2.86 last season.
Of course, quite a bit of his performance can be tied to the Winnipeg Jets underperforming as a whole, but given the fact that he forced his way out of the market after failing to contribute to the team’s success last season is a bit of a red flag.
Hellbuyck Getting Helle-bucks
A key thing that Mehta mentioned in his interview with Monreale was the fact that he didn’t want to spend money on goaltending because of the randomness and high cost of the position. While that makes sense to an extent, it counteracts how the Florida Panthers found success when he was in their organization. When the Panthers won their Stanley Cups, they were paying Sergei Bobrovsky $10 million per season. Of course, Bobrovsky is exactly the type of goaltender that Mehta mentioned, as his performance is very unpredictable at times, but it seems odd that he’d make a statement counteracting his past success.
Hellebuyck’s contract isn’t quite as big as Bobrovsky’s was in Florida, but it’s still fairly sizeable considering goaltender contracts haven’t taken the same jump that we’ve seen in every other position as of late. The highest-paid goaltender in the league is Igor Shesterkin, whose cap hit of roughly $11.5 million, is the only current salary for a goaltender to reach seven figures.
Hellebuyck is currently the eighth-highest paid goaltender in the NHL and he’s also tied for the oldest player in the top ten with Linus Ullmark who sits just ahead of him in seventh.
While it’s always hard to hold an executive in sports to their word, it seems odd that one of Mehta’s first major moves in charge of the New Jersey Devils revolves around him acquiring the type of player he bluntly stated that he didn’t want. Only time will tell if he made the right call to turn back on his word or if changing away from his principle will set the team back.
Devils GM Turns Back on His Word With Blockbuster Trade