Devils Trade For Pure Goal Scorer Meier Also Notable For What Wasn’t Included
The three stars coming out of the Prudential Center tunnel following New Jersey’s 7-0 trouncing of Philadelphia on Saturday night all hailed from that formerly overlooked hockey hotbed Switzerland. One day later, the Devils obtained yet another Swiss delight in their bid to keep up with the Eastern Conference arms race, answering their fans’ pleas for San Jose’s power forward Timo Meier.
Whether it was for a rental (Meier will be a restricted free agent who will be owed a hefty $10 million qualifying offer to retain those rights this summer) or as a key component in the organization’s long-term plan, Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald paid a fair price for the 31-goal scorer. The Devils surrendered bottom-six forward Fabian Zetterlund, borderline NHLers Andreas Johnsson and Nikita Okhotiuk, Russian prospect and 2020 first-round pick Shakir Mukhamadullin, plus a 2023 first-round pick, a conditional second round pick in 2024, and a 2024 seventh-rounder.
That might seem like a haul for one impactful player plus four spare parts for lower levels (though Scott Harrington has 238 career NHL games under his belt and could be called upon as a sixth defenseman in case of injuries) and a 2024 fifth round pick. But the subscript under the Meier headline was what Fitzgerald was able to keep—none of New Jersey’s best prospects, notably recent first-round picks Alexander Holtz, Luke Hughes, and Simon Nemec, are departing. Neither is red-hot top-six forward Dawson Mercer, who was allegedly the apple of San Jose General Manager Mike Grier’s eye throughout the process.
This trade wasn’t all that dissimilar from when the Devils, who have been sellers at the trade deadline for all but one of the past ten seasons, sent reigning Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall to Arizona in 2019. At the time, Hall was purely a rental as a pending unrestricted free agent (he signed with Buffalo that summer) and the deal wasn’t expanded to include extraneous players and salary cap relief, but the key components were the draft picks and a giant defenseman, with Mukhamadullin playing the role of current Devils sixth d-man Kevin Bahl. Both players entered their respective Drafts with countervailing evaluations, with many Devils fans seething when Fitzgerald made what was considered a major reach to select Mukhamadullin so early at No. 20 overall.
It's possible that Mukhamadullin will eventually reach the high ceiling Fitzgerald projected for him, but not this season, despite Fitzgerald’s assertion in the media call following the trade that Mukhamadullin could have played a role in the Devils’ upcoming playoff run once his final KHL season concluded. Besides, New Jersey could still turn to either Nemec, who is developing nicely in AHL Utica this season, or University of Michigan sophomore Hughes for reinforcements in a pinch.
Once potential competitors like Carolina and Vegas bowed out of the Meier bidding, Fitzgerald was able to close the deal for his top target on his terms. Meier, 26, will fit seamlessly on the wing of either All-Star Jack Hughes or his countryman Nico Hischier. He will be a reliable net front presence, an area where the Devils and their 19th-ranked power play needed fortification. And Meier also has playoff experience, including a 20-game run with the Sharks in 2019 where he registered five goals and 10 assists.
And that’s where the Devils (39-15-5, the NHL’s third-best record) have to start transitioning their game as the regular season heads into its final turn with 23 games remaining. A first-round matchup with the rival Rangers, who have beefed up themselves with the acquisition of wing Vladimir Tarasenko for nothing of immediate consequence and are reportedly on the verge of landing Black Hawks star Patrick Kane in another deal, seems inevitable.
Other Eastern Conference contenders—Toronto, Boston, and, lo and behold, the Islanders—have also geared up for the playoffs with major moves. Sitting tight while letting competitors pass them by wasn’t an option for Fitzgerald.
So while I still have reservations about how Fitzgerald will be able to make all his top-end talent fit into the team’s salary cap next season with only 10 players currently under contract (though he didn’t seem that concerned on his media call), there are no guarantees that the Devils will be in this advantageous position again.
Might as well go for it, especially when the consideration’s cost was affordable.