The most coveted forward on the NHL trade market is on the move.
The San Jose Sharks have reportedly traded forwards Timo Meier, Timur Ibragimov, defensemen Scott Harrington, Santeri Hatakka, goaltender Zachary Emond and a fifth-round pick in 2024 to the New Jersey Devils for forwards Fabian Zetterlund and Andreas Johnsson, defenseman Nikita Okhotyuk, prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin, a 2023 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 first-round pick and a 2024 seventh-rounder.
Condition on 2024 1st Round Pick: #njdevils must reach East Conf Final in 2023 or 2024, and Meier plays in 50% of games in 2023, then it will become Top 10 lottery protected 2024 1st round pick.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 27, 2023
If those things do not happen, it becomes a 2024 2nd Round Pick. https://t.co/itAXbuu4TC
Meier, 26, has had one of the best seasons of his NHL career with 52 31 goals and 52 points in 57 games. The high-energy goal-scorer has spent his entire tenure with the Sharks, recording 154 goals and 316 points in 451 games over seven seasons. The Sharks drafted Meier ninth overall in 2015 and he quickly became a big piece of the team’s core, scoring a career-high 35 goals and 76 points last year.
Meier is in the final year of a four-year deal worth $6 million per season. It’ll be interesting to see if the Devils end up giving the pending RFA a long-term deal. Much of the team’s offensive core – Jack Hughes, Nico Hischer and Ondrej Palat – already signed long-term. The Devils will also need to make a move on Jesper Bratt, who is in the final year of a deal paying $5.45 million. Five other forwards will be RFAs, while Tomas Tatar, Miles Wood and Erik Haula are UFAs.
According to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, the Sharks will retain 50 percent of Lavoie’s salary this year.
The Devils sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 83 points, three behind Carolina for first. The Rangers in third already made a big splash, landing Vladimir Tarasenko, while the Carolina Hurricanes have stayed pat. Adding Meier will be a huge addition for a Devils team that has exceeded pre-season expectations.
New Jersey is also the leader in Swiss-born players, with Nico Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler already in the lineup. Hischier and Meier have played together internationally, most notably World Championship.
The Sharks currently have the third-best odds to land the first-overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft. The Sharks have never picked first overall in franchise history. They have taken three players second overall: Pat Fallon (1991), Andrei Zyuzin (1996) and Patrick Marleau (1997).