The injury woes don’t end just because the season did, something New Jersey Devils winger Timo Meier discovered after opting to undergo an elective arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder. The procedure will take place on Tuesday, and it will be performed by Dr. Jonathan L. Glashow and Dr. Guillem Gonzalez-Lomas, the Devils’ chief medical officer and team orthopedic surgeon. Meier is expected to recover fully before the team’s 2024 training camp. This procedure will hold Meier out of the World Championship, as confirmed by Switzerland’s national team.
Meier appeared in 69 games this season, missing time to double MCL injuries in November and an oblique injury in January. He didn’t miss a game after returning to the lineup on January 17, working towards 28 goals and 52 points on the season. While admirable scoring, the year marked Meier’s lowest-scoring pace of the last three seasons. That could result from playing through a shoulder injury, though the extent of his injury hasn’t been confirmed.
Arthroscopic surgery has grown in practice over recent years, with Alex Killorn and Vladimir Tarasenko undergoing similar knee surgeries over the last five years. The last shoulder surgery of this kind came in 2019 when Erik Johnson went under the knife following Colorado’s exit in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. Dany Heatley also underwent the surgery in 2013, holding him out of the end of the 2012-13 season. The procedure is meant to be preventative and minimally invasive, identifying joint-related issues or small tears.
While he played in most of New Jersey’s games and scored impressive, there’s no doubt that Meier will be happy to move on from an injury-plagued 2023-24 season. He’ll spend the summer fully focused on rehabbing his injuries, eyeing a productive return to a New Jersey offense that could be commanded by a new head coach — with interim Travis Green not yet awarded the full-time role.
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