Timo Meier was the top piece to add at last season's trade deadline, and the San Jose Sharks got a lot of elements in return.
The San Jose Sharks made the deal to send Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils, and General Manager Mike Grier wanted to make sure he got a lot in return.
A total of 13 pieces were involved in the deal.
The top pieces the Sharks sent to New Jersey were Meier and defenseman Santeri Hatakka. The primary return for the Sharks was defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, Fabian Zetterlund, and a 2023 first-round pick.
That first-round pick ended up as pick No. 26, where the Sharks drafted forward Quentin Musty.
San Jose also received a conditional 2024 second-round pick. That condition is "If NJD make the 2023 Eastern Conference Final (ECF) and Meier plays in 50% of the games, or NJD make the 2024 Eastern Conference Final, the pick becomes NJD's 2024 1st."
The Devils were knocked out in the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes, but Grier and the Sharks will have high hopes for the Devils to make it to the ECF in 2024.
Meier was a first-round pick in 2015 and played 451 career games for the San Jose Sharks—a fan favorite throughout the SAP Center who provided many good moments.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGRsPXA6DgQ[/embed]
Iconic Sharks TV broadcaster Randy Hahn coined the phrase "It's Timo Time in overtime" every time Meier would score the OT GWG.
Unfortunately for the Sharks, with some older players with high cap hits, Meier and his $10 million qualifying offer would've been hard to re-sign.
The Devils signed Meier to an 8-year, $70,400,000 contract.
Mukhamadullin and Zetterlund won't fill the void that Meier left, but those two players are young pieces that will help the Sharks in their rebuild.
Mukhamadullin has shown the ability to play at a high level in the short time he was with the San Jose Barracuda. Head Coach John McCarthy expects him to run the first powerplay unit next season.
The big Russian defenseman had 10 points in 12 games in the AHL last season.
Musty showed he might be the steal of the 2023 draft after putting on a show at development camp in early July.
Although there were many moving parts to the Timo Meier trade, the deal's core should help the San Jose Sharks continue rebuilding back to contention for a Stanley Cup.