Panthers add to front office, tab Sunny Mehta to lead analytics department

SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito announced today that the club has named Sunny Mehta Vice President of Hockey Strategy & Intelligence.

“Having Sunny join the Panthers is truly exciting,” said Zito. “He is an intelligent, talented and driven individual who will provide us with an expanded scope of analysis and accessible information. This integration of data and analytics into the fabric of our daily hockey operations will broaden our ongoing discussions and evaluation capabilities in the present and future of our franchise.”

Mehta pioneered the first full-time analytics department in the NHL, serving as Director of Hockey Analytics for the New Jersey Devils for four seasons (2014-15 to 2017-18). He has also consulted for the Washington Capitals (2019-20) and Arizona Coyotes (2010-11). Beyond his work in the National Hockey League, Mehta has also consulted for six Major League Baseball (MLB) teams through a partnership with Zelus Analytics.

The native of Wyckoff, N.J., played varsity hockey for Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes, N.J., and graduated from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music in 2000. Following his graduation, Mehta spent time as professional musician and poker player and co-authored two bestselling books on poker strategy.

Following his professional poker career, he served as a Proprietary Derivatives Trader at Peak6 Capital Management at the Chicago Board of Trade.

He most recently held the position of Senior Data Scientist for Zelus Analytics while pursuing his master’s degree in data science from City University of New York.

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