The New Jersey Devils need to get Timo Meier going

The star winger is scoring at just a 27-goal pace and posting underwhelming on-ice metrics.

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The New Jersey Devils have a laundry list of issues right now.

They can’t get saves with any sort of consistency, defensive lapses are constantly happening at the worst possible times, and they continue to deal with injuries in bulk.

As much as everyone is screaming from the rooftops to bring in some external help – understandably so; especially in goal – the Devils would also greatly benefit from getting more out of the players they do have.

Timo Meier is at or near the top of the list of skaters the Devils need more from.

Meier disappointed production-wise down the stretch last season. He was generating chances in bulk, though, so it was easy to look past the struggles as a lack of puck luck or Meier simply needing time to adjust to new surroundings. Fair enough.

It is a completely different story this season, though.

Meier’s counting totals (11 points in 15 games) are fine on the surface. With one big game, he’s flirting with a point per game and producing points at the level the Devils are paying him for. That being said, there are plenty of areas where he is lacking.

In terms of basic stats, Meier is producing at a 27-goal pace. That’s a far cry from the 40 he put up a season ago.

Meier was brought in to score goals and put away some of the many chances the Devils constantly squandered in recent years. Right now, he’s not doing enough in that regard.

His on-ice impacts are also quite poor. Meier ranks 17th among 21 Devils in GAR, coming in at -0.9 through 17 games.

Meier has posted an average Game Score of 0.36. That ties him with Ryan McLeod, Noah Cates, Drew O’Connor, and Tanner Jeannot, which is never good company to keep for a player making upwards of $9 million per season.

So, to summarize, Meier isn’t scoring enough, his on-ice impacts are poor, and only Nathan Bastian owns a worse goal differential among Devils players.

That’s hardly ideal for someone who has consistently been one of the most productive play-driving wingers in the league.

What can the Devils do?