Sharks’ Timo Meier Available; Will Flyers Explore?
All signs point to the Philadelphia Flyers selling out at the trade deadline, but would general manager Chuck Fletcher be bold for one of the few times in his tenure?
Would he roll the dice and make a play for San Jose’s Timo Meier, a powerhouse left winger who scored 35 goals last year and is on the pace for 45 seasons?
Meier, 26, plays with a physical style and scores plenty of goals, but he’s going to get a big contract.
Is Fletcher ready to pursue a marquee player after bypassing Johnny Gaudreau last summer?
The Sharks, who don’t believe they can re-sign Meier, have released the 6-foot-1, 220-pound winger. Teams have until the March 3 trade deadline to make an offer.
Unless he leaves earlier. Like star center Bo Horvat did this week.
The New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks opened the door to the NHL’s trade season on Monday. They finalized a blockbuster deal in which the Islanders got Horvat for an established player (Anthony Beauvillier), a promising rookie (Aatu Raty) and a conditional first-round pick in 2023.
Now the San Jose Sharks are trying to get a big package for the talented Meier.
Sources tell San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng that the Sharks want a similar deal for the Swiss player the Canucks received for Horvat. A source said San Jose is looking for a first-round pick and a Grade-A prospect or two Grade-B prospects for Meier.
High price
They would also accept a first-rounder, a good prospect and an established young NHL player. That means if the Philadelphia Flyers were interested, they’d probably have to trade a first-rounder (we’re guessing he’d be protected if he was in the top 12) and, say, Tyson Foerster and Morgan Frost.
The Flyers should probably bring in James van Riemsdyk to make things work from a cap standpoint.
The overall price would be high, especially considering that Meier is a pending restricted free agent with a $10 million qualifying offer due. He’ll probably make about $9 million a year if he gets an extension.
San Jose reportedly gave teams permission to work out an extension with Meier’s agent before a deal was reached.
Meier hit a cap of $6 million this season.
Over the past two seasons, Meier has scored 63 goals, 14th in the NHL. During that span, he had 553 shots, second in the NHL. In the 2015 draft, the Sharks selected him 9th overall — two picks after the Flyers took Ivan Provorov.
Hmmm. I wonder if a Meier-for-Provorov deal ($6.75 million capacity for two more seasons beyond this one) would work? It seems logical for both teams that the Philadelphia Flyers would sign Meier for an extension.
For a possible Meier trade from the Sharks’ perspective, and more, check out our links below:
Around the NHL and National Hockey Now
Philly Hockey Now: The Flyers overcame a 10-game losing streak and the absence of three injured key players – Sean Couturier, Ryan Ellis and Cam Atkinson – as they climbed to ‘hockey .500’ at the All-Star Break . I handed out awards — from team MVP to most improved player — during the All-Star break. Philadelphia Flyers.
San Jose Hockey Now: Top scoring winger Timo Meier is on the trade block, and the Bo Horvat deal could be a template for the Sharks’ return. San Jose Sharks.
New York Islanders Hockey Now: The Isles hope to sign Horvat for an extension. What would that look like? New York Islanders.
Boston Hockey Now: With the Horvat trade, will the Bruins look to acquiring Dylan Larkin from Detroit? Boston would have been among the teams chasing Horvat. Boston Bruins.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Brian Burke, president of hockey operations for the Penguins, says general manager Ron Hextall is “looking hard” to get a deal. Pittsburgh penguins.
Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs got off to a rocky start — Ottawa’s Claude Giroux (20th goal) scored less than three minutes into the game — but overcame a 3-1 deficit and tied it at 4-4 in the end of third. No matter. Senator Brady Tkachuk won with 78 seconds left in regulation. Montreal Canadiens.
Washington Hockey Now: James van Riemsdyk’s younger brother Trevor scored twice to lead the Caps past Columbus 4-3 in overtime. It was the first multi-goal game of his career, and it gave the defender a career-high six goals this season. Capitals of Washington.
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