New Jersey Devils: Recent Trades Could Change Asking Price For Timo Meier
By Nick Villano
Just a few weeks ago, we talked about how the Bo Horvat trade wasn’t going to change the price of the impeding Timo Meier trade. Those two deals didn’t impact each other. We’re a few weeks later, and more trades have gone down. Vladimir Tarasenko was traded to the New York Rangers for Sammy Blais, a low-tiered prospect and a first and fourth-round pick. Then, this weekend, Ryan O’Reilly was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs with Noel Acciari for a bevy of picks.
The trade market is getting hot and heavy ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. However, there are only so many pieces and so many contenders to target. The New Jersey Devils are one of the teams who want to make a massive move. Their target has always been Timo Meier. The San Jose Sharks forward still has control after this season. That’s the big difference between Horvat, O’Reilly, Tarasenko, and the aforementioned Meier.
The Devils would have to pay a massive price to get Meier. That’s why the trade hasn’t happened. However, did the current trades change the price for Meier?
We’ve covered that trading for unrestricted free agents doesn’t change the price for Meier in a vacuum. They are different situations. However, the trade market just lost the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers. Those two teams have both been tied to Meier.
Right now, it feels like the Devils only have the Carolina Hurricanes to compete with. The Vegas Golden Knights or maybe the Seattle Kraken could jump into the race. However, it feels like it’s a race between the Devils and the Hurricanes now.
With so few actual contenders in the race for Meier, and time running out until the March 3rd deadline, the Sharks likely are seeing their asking price drop. The Hurricanes will likely need to make Seth Jarvis available in any trade. The Devils can match that with Alexander Holtz and another pick or prospect. There’s no way Simon Nemec is part of the deal. Luke Hughes discourse is laughable.
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Meier is going to cost a lot, but it likely won’t cost as much as the Sharks hope. Maybe the Devils can make this work with quantity, similar to the Taylor Hall trade, rather than quality.