New Jersey Devils: 3 Takeaways from Timo Meier Trade

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.

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.

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.