The most coveted forward on the NHL trade market is on the move.
The San Jose Sharks reportedly traded forward Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils. No return has been named yet.
Meier, 26, has had one of the best seasons of his NHL career with 31 goals and 52 points in 57 games. The high-energy goal-scorer has spent his entire tenure with the Sharks so far, recording 154 goals and 316 points in 451 games over seven seasons. The Sharks drafted Meier ninth overall in 2015, and he quickly became a big piece of the team’s core, scoring a career-high 35 goals and 76 points last year.
Meier is in the final year of a four-year deal worth $6 million per season. It’ll be interesting to see if the Devils end up giving the pending restricted free agent a long-term deal. Much of the team’s offensive core – Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Ondrej Palat – already signed long term. The Devils will also need to make a move on Jesper Bratt, who is in the final year of a deal paying $5.45 million. Five other forwards will be RFAs, while Tomas Tatar, Miles Wood and Erik Haula are unrestricted free agents.
According to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, the Sharks will retain 50 percent of Meier’s salary this year.
The Devils sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 83 points, three behind Carolina for first. The Rangers in third already made a big splash, landing Vladimir Tarasenko, while the Hurricanes have stayed pat. Adding Meier will be a huge addition for a Devils team that has exceeded preseason expectations.
New Jersey is also the leader in Swiss-born players, with Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler already in the lineup. Hischier and Meier have played together internationally, most most notably World Championship.
The Sharks currently have the third-best odds to land the first-overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft. The Sharks have never picked first overall in franchise history. They have taken three players second overall: Pat Fallon (1991), Andrei Zyuzin (1996) and Patrick Marleau (1997).
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