Devils Hire Braden Birch

     The Florida Panthers have lost another member of their hockey operations department as the New Jersey Devils announced Braden Birch as their new assistant general manager. He joins former Florida Panthers assistant general manager/director of analytics and current New Jersey Devils general manager Sunny Mehta on his staff. Birch will be responsible as the general manager of the Devils AHL affiliate the Utica Comets. 

     Birch joined the Florida Panthers as an intern and became a special assistant to the general manager prior to the 2016-17 season. He was elevated in the following season to their hockey operations department. Birch later added duties in salary cap management. The Panthers would win two Stanley Cup championships and three Eastern Conference titles during his tenure.