Sources Indicate That Devils Are Closing In On Brendan Shanahan
Multiple NHL sources have confirmed to R.org that Brendan Shanahan is indeed the leading candidate to become the next President of Hockey Operations for the New Jersey Devils. In fact, late Thursday night, one source went as far as saying Shanahan could assume the role for the Devils by Monday.
“Yes”, the source replied when asked if a Shanahan hiring in New Jersey was imminent.
Another source told R.org that Shanahan was the leading candidate for the POHO job with the Devils immediately after they fired Tom Fitzgerald, who had held that role and the general manager role since replacing the late Ray Shero late in the 2019-20 season.
“This is the job he’s really been eyeing for a while, and the Devils have been eyeing him,” the source told R.org.
On a recent edition of The Eye Test Podcast, longtime NHL analyst Pierre McGuire also indicated that all signs were pointing towards Shanahan.
“If it’s not Shanahan, I’ll be shocked,” McGuire said on Tuesday.
As reported by RG in late February, the former President of Hockey Operations for the Toronto Maple Leafs was an early candidate for the role with the Nashville Predators, just three weeks after Barry Trotz, the team’s original and longtime head coach, announced that he was stepping down from his role as the Predators’ general manager. According to a well-placed source, then, the chatter was that if hired by Nashville, Shanahan would take over as President of Hockey Operations for the Predators, and former Montreal Canadiens Executive VP of Hockey Operations and General Manager, Marc Bergevin, would become the Predators’ new GM.
“They want an outside and objective voice right now, and that fits what I’m hearing right now. I just honestly can’t say what will happen. Those names, though, yeah,” a source told RG back on February 25.
On Friday morning, that same source told R.org that the talks with the Predators never went as far as expected.
“I don’t know the details, but all I know is as your other source told you, Shanahan apparently was waiting to see what happened with Fitzgerald in New Jersey,” the source confirmed. “Whether Bergevin is still going to potentially be his GM if and when he gets the job in Jersey, I don’t know.”
So far, Bergevin’s name has not been reported as a candidate for the GM job in New Jersey, and inquiring calls and texts from R.org in the last two days could not confirm that he is in the mix.
Mehta Also in Mix for Leafs Job
According to numerous reports, Florida Panthers assistant general manager Sunny Mehta is a strong candidate for not only the Devils’ but also the Maple Leafs’ open GM position. Per TSN and Athletic NHL insider, Pierre LeBrun, both teams have been granted permission to interview Mehta, who began his hockey operations career with the Devils, as their director of analytics.
According to the first source referenced above, two other names to keep an eye on for the Devils’ GM job are Hall of Fame goalie and current Devils executive vice president of hockey operations, Martin Brodeur, and current Boston Bruins assistant GM, Evan Gold.
“I know last fall Brodeur was telling people he didn’t want to become the GM because one of his sons won’t be going to college for another three years, but you gotta think the team, and Shanahan, if he gets the prez of hockey ops gig, would at least check to see if Marty is interested,” the source said.
“As for Gold, he’s in high demand and if he wants, will probably get a promotion with another team, or he can wait, and get that with the Bruins, where I know Don Sweeney loves him.”