New Jersey Devils: 3 Takeaways from Timo Meier Trade
It was a long time coming, but Timo Meier is finally a New Jersey Devils player. The San Jose Sharks got a lot in return for Meier and multiple other pieces, but the cost was nowhere near what was expected of the Devils.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun had New Jersey Devils fans in the mix all day long, starting just before 9 a.m. EST this morning, up to the official trade announcement by the team coming shortly after 9 p.m. The trade, as per the New Jersey Devils, officially reads as Timo Meier (50% retained), Timur Ibragimov, Scott Harrington, defenseman Santeri Hatakka, goaltender Zachary Emond and a 2024 fifth-round pick in exchange for a conditional 2023 first-round pick, defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Nikita Okhotiuk, forwards Andreas Johnsson and Fabian Zetterlund, a conditional second-round pick in 2024, and a seventh-round pick in 2024.
Timo Time... to fight?!!? His 3rd fighting major in the NHL.
— TEAL TOWN USA - A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) January 23, 2023
FIGHT! 🥊 #SJSharks Meier vs. #NHLBruins Carlo pic.twitter.com/QXUGEkkfV9
Also per the Devils, the conditions on the 2023 first-round pick and 2024 second-round pick are:
- San Jose receives New Jersey’s 2023 first-round pick; if the pick is a top-two selection, New Jersey will instead send their 2024 first-round pick.
- San Jose receives the conditional 2024 Second-Round Pick if: New Jersey reaches the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals (and Meier plays in at least 50% of Meier’s Club’s Playoff games in 2023) or the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, New Jersey will transfer its own first-round pick in 2024 NHL Draft to San Jose (top 10 protected), instead of their second-round pick in 2024 NHL Draft. If New Jersey’s first-round pick in 2024 NHL Draft is a top 10 selection, New Jersey will have the option to instead transfer its own first-round pick in 2025 NHL Draft to San Jose. Should New Jersey transfer its first-round pick in 2024 NHL Draft per the original condition (top-two above in Condition A), New Jersey will instead transfer their own first-round pick in 2025 NHL Draft should they reach the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals.
Annnnnnnd breathe. Let’s take a look at three major takeaways from this trade.
1. The New Jersey Devils Kept Basically Everyone
Yes, you read all of that correctly. The Devils managed to finally get their big fish in the pond without giving up, and wait for it, Dawson Mercer, Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, Yegor Sharangovich, Alexander Holtz, Seamus Casey, Josh Filmon, Nolan Foote, Mackenzie Blackwood, Akira Schmid, Topias Vilen, Graeme Clarke, and Arseni Gritsyuk. Basically? The Devils held on to all of their meaningful prospects bar Shakir Mukhamadullin, who never really had a clear path to an NHL roster spot in New Jersey anyway.
Alex Holtz is so good at hockey. Lol.@UticaComets | @Verizon pic.twitter.com/HCG5TgS8ep
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 21, 2022
Aside from getting Timo Meier himself, this is a massive win for the Devils. Tom Fitzgerald refused to make a deal that compromised New Jersey’s immediate and long-term future, and he could not have done a better job of that. Many of the players mentioned above will have the opportunity to nail down an NHL roster spot within the next year, as the Devils have many key players on expiring contracts.
If guys like Mercer, Nemec, L. Hughes, and Clarke continue to develop at their current and expected rates, the Devils will become a fearmongering hockey powerhouse for a long time.
2. The Devils’ Roster Remains Deep for Playoff Run
By retaining Yegor Sharangovich, Dawson Mercer, and Mackenzie Blackwood, the Devils do not compromise their special teams or depth. Amidst his hot streak, Mercer in particular became the center of speculation. However, it was never really on the table to trade him. He’s too good. Dynasties are built on entire rosters, and players like Mercer can take teams a long way.
Sharangovich is one of the team’s best and most trusted penalty killers, and he also just welcomed a newborn baby to the family; he was never a true possibility to be moved.
On the flip side, Mackenzie Blackwood has long been at the center of trade rumors, with nothing coming to fruition. After getting injured again, he potentially finds himself in a goaltending controversy after rookie Akira Schmid’s shutout of the Flyers on Feb. 25.
Timo Meier will provide a big bodied presence to the Devils’ first power play unit, and hopefully bump Ondrej Palat to the second unit to replace the ineffective Miles Wood. A second unit of Palat, Tomas Tatar, Mercer, Erik Haula, and Damon Severson is much more respectable, despite the obvious and perpetuated lack of a triggerman. (Alex Holtz anybody?)
3. The San Jose Sharks Improve, Kind of
A lot of Devils fans, including myself, will be saddened that Fabian Zetterlund (aka Tank, Zettertank, etc. ) and his bench press will be leaving us. Zetterlund is and will be a great NHL player for San Jose, and I personally am disappointed he did not get an extended look on the power play, and in the lineup in general, after a good few months on a line with Tatar and Nico Hischier.
FABIAN ZETTERLUND 😈
— NHL (@NHL) November 6, 2022
He puts away the @Energizer OT winner and the @NJDevils improve to 9-3-0 on the season, winning their sixth game in a row! pic.twitter.com/LCL14hQtxx
After a bad first season in New Jersey, Andreas Johnsson had a better and mostly-okay second season last year. This season, he did not make the team and only made a brief cameo for a few games as a fill-in. I still think there is an NHL player in Johnsson, but he needs to find the right situation when he becomes a free agent this summer. Maybe a reunion in Toronto on a cheap prove-it deal, or signing on a tryout basis, would work for him and the cap-strapped Maple Leafs.
With the emergence of Topias Vilen and Luke Hughes coming through the pipeline soon, Shakir Mukhamadullin never had a clear path to the NHL and was viewed as a high-risk high-reward draft from the very beginning. Nikita Okhotiuk had his opportunity to make a name for himself, jockeying with Kevin Bahl and Brendan Smith for the third left defense spot, but failed to make an impact and was subsequently sent down to Utica for the final time. Okhotiuk will certainly get an extended look on a Sharks squad that lacks better options, and can maybe find his game there alongside Mario Ferraro and Erik Karlsson unless Karlsson too is traded.
Next. Devils Pay a Steep but Fair Price for Timo Meier. dark
That said, Devils fans have no complaints or reservations about this one. Timo Meier has finally arrived, and the cost of business was significantly less than anticipated.