Devils Land Timo Meier In Complicated Deal

The New Jersey Devils acquired 220-pound rugged forward Timo Meier from the San Jose Sharks Sunday and the price was right.

The Devils acquired Meier, left wing Timur Ibragimov, defensemen Scott Harrington and Santeri Hatakka, goalie Zachary Emond, plus a 2024 fifth-round pick. The Sharks get a 2023 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 second-round pick and a seventh, plus prospect defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Nikita Okhotiuk, plus forwards Andreas Johnsson and Fabian Zetterlund. The Sharks are retaining 50 percent of Meier’s salary.

The 2024 second-round pick becomes a first rounder if the Devils advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

The deal is complicated, but the early analysis is the Devils are already a major winner.

They get Meier, who has 31 goals this season and is on pace for 44. They didn’t have to give up key prospect Alexander Holtz. It was presumed that the Sharks wanted him as part of the deal.

Fetterlund, 23, has six goals for the Devils this season, and projects as a third liner. The Sharks like the Russian D man Mukhamadullin, a 2020 first-round pick who has played well in the Kontinental Hockey League this season. ESPN reports he has been planning to come to North America after the KHL season.

Based on social media, San Jose fans are underwhelmed by the return on Meier. Also on Sunday, the Predators received defenseman Cal Foote, a 2025 conditional first round pick, a 2024 second-round pick and third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2023. In exchange for hard-hitting winger Tanner Jeannot. He has five goals this season.

But the deal gets much better for the Sharks if the second rounder becomes a first. 

The one concern for the Devils is that they were not given permission to talk to Meier about a contract extension. Nothing is in place. He becomes a restricted free agent this summer. The Devils have to make a $10 million qualifying offer.

🎩 Kirill Kaprizov scores natural hat trick to down Blue Jackets 3-2 in overtime. Down 2-0 to start the third period the Minnesota Wild superstar turned it on, scoring his 1st goal off a deflection just 1:15 into the period, followed by his 16th power play goal of the season — a new franchise record — less than 5 minutes later to tie the game. Kaprizov capped off the natural hat trick and won the game with just 20 seconds remaining in OT, finishing Calen Addison's backdoor setup. The Minnesota Wild remain in 2nd place in the Central Division, 2 points back from Dallas and 1 point ahead of Colorado.

🐧 Pittsburgh Penguins score 6 goals in the second to beat the Lightning 7-3. Evgeni Malkin scored his 23rd of the season 6:17 into the second period to tie the game at 2-2 before five different Pens scored five goals — Crosby (26), Blueger (2), Carter (9), Zucker (16), and Dumoulin (1) — in the last five minutes of the period to make it 7-2 by the second intermission. Casey DeSmith made 26 saves as the Pens won their second game in as many nights after being St. Louis 3-2 in overtime Saturday. The Pens sit in the final Eastern Conference Wild Card with a 1 point lead on the Buffalo Sabres.

Last night, Toronto Maple Leafs' defenseman Mark Giordano became the NHL's all-time blocked shots leader with 2,046 blocks. Who did he pass to take the top spot?

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