Timo Meier to make Devils debut on Sunday

A week after learning he’d officially be joining the team, New Jersey Devils fans should finally get to see Timo Meier in action Sunday when the team takes on the Arizona Coyotes. Head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters today, including NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky, that “as long as he’s feeling good, [Meier] should be ready to go.”

Meier had been day-to-day with an upper-body injury at the time of the trade and had not played since February 18. According to Devils senior producer Sam Kasan’s report of the team’s line rushes during yesterday’s practice, Meier is expected to line up at left wing alongside Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, forming a potentially terrorizing two-way scoring unit.

More notes from the Metro Division this morning:

• Novozinsky also reported this morning that it may be a few games before New Jersey sees their other trade deadline acquisition in a Devils uniform. Curtis Lazar, acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on deadline day, is dealing with work visa issues, and it could be as long as a week until he’s able to join the team. The 28-year-old Lazar is expected to contest with Jesper Boqvist, Michael McLeod, and Miles Wood for ice time in New Jersey’s bottom six.
• While many Philadelphia Flyers fans criticized general manager Chuck Fletcher’s lack of significant activity at the trade deadline, head coach John Tortorella stepped to his defense yesterday. Tortorella told reporters, including Olivia Reiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer, that Fletcher tried to gain assets for expiring contracts. Offers were presented for many of the Flyers’ pending UFAs, including James van Riemsdyk and Justin Braun, but Fletcher opted not to move them for a lower asking price than desired.