Timo Time ends in San Jose, as Sharks reportedly ship Meier to New Jersey

The San Jose Sharks have traded Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic first reported Sunday.

It was not immediately what the Sharks were getting in return from the Devils, although the package was expected to be sizeable, with draft picks and other players involved. The Sharks were including another player as part of the trade with New Jersey, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported Sunday.

The Sharks are retaining half of Meier’s salary cap hit for this season, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports in Montreal reported. Meier’s cap hit for this season is $6 million, although he is making $10 million in actual salary in what is the final year of a four-year, $24 million deal he signed with the Sharks in July 2019.

Meier, 26, was thought to be the NHL’s most sought-after player prior to the league’s trade deadline this Friday. Prior to sitting out the last three games with what was described by the team as an upper-body injury, Meier had 31 goals and 21 assists in 57 games.

Meier, a pending restricted free agent, has not agreed to a contract extension with the Devils, LeBrun said.

The 6-foot-1 and 220-pound Meier was drafted ninth overall by the Sharks in 2015. Since he turned pro prior to the 2016-2017 season, Meier is the Sharks’ fourth-leading point-getter, with 154 goals and 316 points in 451 games. Only Logan Couture scored more goals (162) in that time.

Although the Sharks have missed the playoffs each of the last three seasons, Meier showed at a young age that he could be an impactful postseason performer. He has 20 points in 35 career postseason games, with 15 points in 20 games in 2019 when the Sharks advanced to the Western Conference final.

“He is the prototype of modern-day power forward and it’s very tough to find players like that,” Couture said Saturday. “A 30-goal scorer, so obviously he’s a tremendous player. Organizations have decisions to make and they make them, and as players, you live with what’s done and our job is to show up and play hockey and really that’s all we control in this room.”

Even with Meier, the Sharks entered Sunday 29th out of 32 teams in the NHL standings with an 18-30-12 record. Trading Meier gives the Sharks a chance to supplement their prospect pool and add to a cadre of players who could have an impact at the NHL level within a two or three-year span.

The Devils, meanwhile, entered Sunday in second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Meier had not played in the previous three Sharks games as he recovered from what was described as an upper-body injury.

Asked Saturday if he thinks he’s already played his last game for the Sharks, which would have been Feb. 18 against Buffalo, Meier said, “I don’t really think like that. If it happens, it happens, but my full concentration right now is getting healthy.

“I don’t really know too much right now.”

Meier is making $10 million in salary this season. He is due a qualifying offer of that amount if he and the team he is with cannot reach an agreement on a long-term contract before the start of free agency on July 1, otherwise, he would become an unrestricted free agent.

The Devils reportedly wanted an extension done with Meier, or at least be close to one, before they part with the type of assets necessary to complete a deal with San Jose.

Asked if he’s open to signing long-term elsewhere before the end of the season, Meier said, “It depends on the situation. Like I said there’s nothing (imminent). We’ll see how it plays out. If teams pay a certain price, they might want to have an extension done but as of now there’s nothing done.”

The Sharks are on their way to missing the playoffs for a fourth-straight season and in that time Couture, now in his 14th year in the organization, has seen multiple impact players get shipped to other organizations.

“I wish we were adding guys, but we put ourselves in this position,” Couture said. “Realistically, you see where we’re at. Obviously, it makes sense to make moves for the following year or the following season or add players that are going to make us better or younger, whatever they’re going to do.

“I mean, it’s totally up to what happens on the ice, what the decisions that the GM and management make.”

Please check back for updates to this developing story.