New Jersey Devils: 3 Scenarios For Timo Meier Negotiations

Scenario 3: A Trade

We said in the Bratt piece that there was no scenario where we see him get traded. It’s because arbitration is a legit option that everyone will do everything they can to avoid. Here, Meier has no motivation to go to arbitration. He is very unlikely to get more than $10 million in those negotiations. So, he’s more motivated to just play on his QO.

The Devils are coming from a disadvantageous position. Meier holds the power here. No GM wants to be in that position. That’s not the case with Bratt. The Devils could make the very awful move of forcing Meier to arbitration and taking his salary down to $8.5 million. That’s why it is much more likely that the Devils trade Meier than Bratt.

This isn’t to say the Devils should trade Meier. They cannot get equal value for a team pushing for a championship. Unless the Devils trade him for a player like William Nylander (and most would agree that the Devils would have more trouble replacing what Meier brings than celebrate what Nylander does), there’s no value in getting rid of a player of Meier’s caliber.

It seems more likely the Devils would let Meier play on the $10 million number than trade him, but we’re looking at the possible scenarios. If Fitzgerald truly believes Meier is being unreasonable, he might make a move and try to recoup assets he lost to San Jose. Let’s hope this isn’t the situation, because this would be dire.