New Jersey Devils acquire Timo Meier
New Jersey Devils acquire Timo Meier
Tom Fitzgerald has landed the top line winger he's long coveted.
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If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. That’s what New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald did in what felt like a never-ending quest to add another top line winger to the organization.
Over the past year – in one form or another – Fitzgerald made pitches for stars like Johnny Gaudreau, Kevin Fiala, and Matthew Tkachuk, among others. All of those players were unwilling to sign in New Jersey and/or traded elsewhere.
Finally, at long last, Fitzgerald has managed to reel in a big fish in Timo Meier.
Meier is a top of the lineup, modern day power forward in the prime of his career. He scores goals in bunches and can do it from anywhere on the ice.
Although he has the ability to beat netminders from range, he is best at driving the puck to the net; whether it takes high-end speed, power, or a combination of the two.
Few players – if any – are better at working the puck to the middle of the ice and generating shots in the home plate area.
At 5v5, Meier ranks 1st in scoring chances, 2nd in expected goals, and 4th in high-danger opportunities. He is a machine.
It’s anything but unusual to see Meier near the top of the league in those categories. Dating back to the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign, only Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid have generated more expected goals at 5v5. Pretty good.
What separates Meier from many other scorers is all the other elements that come with his game. Meier is not a defensive liability, a pushover physically, nor over reliant on others to facilitate chances for him.
Year after year after year the Sharks controlled larger shares of the shots, chances, goals, and expected goals with Meier on the ice.
He’ll help out defensively, he can reliably carry the puck through the neutral zone, and he can create his own shot in the offensive zone.
Playing with Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes, it’s not as imperative Meier can do those things; but it’s certainly a plus.
Opponents won’t be able to cheat towards the centers and give them extra attention come playoff time.
Meier’s presence gives the Devils another weapon you legitimately have to gameplan for and someone who can better convert on the abundance of chances Hischier, Hughes and Jesper Bratt create every night.
He takes an already strong Devils lineup one step closer to contention in the here and now. At just 26 years of age, he is also somebody who can ensure that remains the case for the long haul.
While no extension is in place, I am confident Meier will be taken care of and remain a Devil long term.
I’ll have much more on this trade tomorrow. You know, when we actually have some details.
For now, though, get excited. It’s Timo Time.
numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
Will miss Zetterlund and his tenacity, but worth it. We lost zero roster players for a young superstar.
Love this deal. I like Zetterlund but this is a no-brainer. I was curious about Shak but the other guys are spare parts. The other guys NJ got seem like nobodies. The only bad part is we traded a guy with an unpronounceable way and got back two guys with unpronounceable names.