While gut reactions to any sports trade are filled with emotion, time is what tells whether a trade is truly good for a team or not. The one-year anniversary of the Timo Meier trade is just around the corner (Feb. 26), and it’s time to take another look back at the trade and see if things look better, worse or about the same for the Sharks.
When the trade initially happened, I was optimistic that it would help San Jose turn a corner and jump start the rebuild. I was going to miss Meier and was dreading what it would mean for the Sharks in the near future, but it was an important step to rebuilding the franchise into another Cup contender. Looking back one year later and it feels very much that this was a good move for the Sharks both this year and moving forward.
Let’s break this trade down into how it turned out for both teams and what it looks in the future for both franchises.
How the Meier trade affected the current New Jersey Devils
Devils fans are torn between calling the Meier trade a great deal and the “worst thing to ever happen to the team.” As pointed out by some of our readers, All About the Jersey just posted an article about how the Timo trade has essentially sent the team down its current path of borderline playoff teams. The article doesn’t blame it all on Timo, but there’s some fingerpointing. It’s understandable. After all, Meier appears to be the only salvageable thing the Devils got out of the deal, and some fans have not been happy with his play.
As of Feb. 22, Meier has 22 points in 43 games, well off his points pace in the two seasons prior with the Sharks. Still, the Devils have Meier signed to a long-term deal that will keep him with the team until he’s 34. They’re getting prime years from the power forward. There’s still a chance they’ll be happy with his play in a year or two.
In addition to Meier, the Devils received Timur Ibragimov, Scott Harrington, Santeri Hatakka, Zachary Emond and a 2024 fifth-round pick in the deal.
Ibragimov is 23 years old. He was not re-signed by the Devils following his trade but did sign an AHL deal with the Utica Comets, the Devils’ affiliate. He has 6 points (3 G, 3 A) in 15 games. While he still has time to develop, it’s questionable as to whether the young forward will ever get more than a cup of coffee at the NHL level.
Harrington was immediately placed on waivers after the trade and headed back to the West Coast when the Anaheim Ducks claimed him. He became a free agent in the offseason. He currently plays for the ZSC Lions in Switzerland.
Hatakka recently made his NHL debut with the Devils. New Jersey is dealing with a banged-up blueline, most specifically losing Dougie Hamilton for an undisclosed amount of time. Hatakka played his first game for the Devils on Jan. 22, where the team beat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-5 in overtime. He played seven games and registered two points for the Devils before some of the injured players got healthy and Hatakka was sent back to the Comets.
As for Zachary Emond, Elite Prospects has him listed as a goaltender for the Trois-Rivieres Lions in the ECHL where he has a 4-3-0 record, 3.73 goals against average and .888 save percentage. He was not re-signed by the Devils following the trade and is currently an unrestricted free agent.
The 2024 fifth-round pick hasn’t been used yet, so no one knows if the Devils have managed to find the next diamond in the ruff or not.
When all was said and done, the Devils kept two pieces and a pick while letting three pieces walk away and receiving nothing in return.
How the Sharks are impacted by its half of the Meier trade one year later
In return for Meier and all the other pieces the Sharks gave away, San Jose received a 2023 first-round draft pick which was used to draft Quentin Musty, defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Nikita Okhotiuk, forwards Andreas Johnson and Fabian Zetterlund, a 2024 second-round pick that could turn into a first-round pick if the Devils make the Eastern Conference Finals and a 2024-seventh-round pick. San Jose also retained half of Meier’s salary; however, Meier’s contract expired in July, so the Sharks are off the hook for that part of the deal.
Quentin Musty a great pickup with No. 26 overall in 2023
As stated, the first-round draft pick was used to draft Musty, a potential future power forward in the NHL. Musty is one of the top scorers with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL with 69 points (28 G, 41 A) in 39 games. What’s more, he is tied for the team lead with five game-winning goals. Thanks in part to Musty’s play, the Wolves have clinched a spot in the OHL playoffs.
Musty plays the game with grit, but he’ll have to learn to temper his responses as he moves up in leagues. Musty has already been suspended twice in the OHL, though his play has been cleaner of late.
He’s one of the key pieces of the Sharks’ rebuild and one that could impact the team sooner rather than later.
Defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk still has upside
The two defensemen that San Jose added in the trade, Mukhamadullin and Okhotiuk, appear to be NHL-caliber defensemen. Okhotiuk is finding his way in his first full season in the NHL. Unfortunately, he hasn’t performed well this season.
Looking at his stats at even-strength, you can see that his play has led to a pretty bad expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60) rating. He’s among the worst on the team this season. That said, he’s had flashes of skilled play, and he still has room to improve. Okhotiuk scored his first goal as a Shark on Jan. 11 against the Montreal Canadiens, and as he finds more consistency defensively, his offense could follow.
The biggest takeaway from Okhotiuk’s season is likely that he still has room to develop. While he might not be the top pairing defenseman we had hoped, it feels like he still has a higher ceiling than some of the other defensemen currently with the Sharks.
Remember, Okhotiuk is 23 years old, and he’s only played 54 career NHL games. 39 of those games came this season. It feels like he has a much higher upside than 29-year-old Matt Benning, who has 457 career NHL games, and 28-year-old Kyle Burroughs who has 141 career NHL games.
Shakir Mukhamadullin developing into top-four defenseman
One of the biggest wild cards coming out of the trade with the Devils was Mukhamadullin. Scouts had him ranked with a high ceiling and believed that if nurtured right, he could become a top-four defenseman in the NHL with scoring upside. So far, he’s come as advertised.
While Mukhamadullin at times appears gawky when skating, there are other times when his moves are smooth as silk. It’s clear that the 22-year-old 6-foot-4 defenseman is still honing his movements. However, he thinks the game at a high level, and as he gained confidence in his brief visit to the Sharks, he initiated more offensively.
As long as he and the Sharks are patient in his development, Mukhamadullin could become everything the Sharks hope for and more, tilting the trade scales even more in the team’s favor.
Right now, Mukhamadullin is playing in the AHL. Keeping him there is just fine; it’s not like the Sharks are competing for anything anyway. Next season, expect Mukhamadullin to be competing for a roster spot.
Andreas Johnsson and Fabian Zetterlund
Johnsson was allowed to walk away in the offseason. It’s okay, the Sharks took on the contract to help make the money work for New Jersey. Currently, Johnsson is playing in the Swedish Hockey League.
Zetterlund is another story entirely. His transition to the Sharks was anything but smooth. He certainly did not seem like he would become the biggest return to date out of the Meier deal. Still, he had upside and that’s why he ranked number nine on the Fear the Fin’s Top 25 Sharks Under 25 list before the start of the 2023-24 season. Zetterlund has proved this season that that confidence was not misplaced.
The forward uses his large size to power other players off the puck, maintain control and forecheck with veracity. His defensive game has improved as well, leading to more scoring opportunities. In 55 games this season, Zetterlund has 23 points, including 15 goals.
While not a breakout year, there’s certainly promise there. As the Sharks add more skilled players to the roster, the points should follow for Zetterlund. He was thriving when he was playing on a line with players like Mikael Granlund and William Eklund but has faltered a bit as that third player (Eklund) has been replaced with less skilled forwards due to a lack of depth at center.
Two more picks from the trade
The Sharks have two more 2024 draft picks to work with from the Meier trade. Draft watchers say that, unlike last year’s draft, this one will not be as deep, and anything past 20 will be a gamble. The Sharks are well outside that range with the second- and seventh-round draft picks.
That said, the picks aren’t worthless. The Sharks have two first-round picks this go around. While the team will likely want to keep its own pick, the one that was given to the Sharks by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Erik Karlsson trade could be bundled with one or both of the picks in the Meier deal to help San Jose move up in the draft. Given the Penguins’ current standings, it’s not out of the realm of possiblity.
Even if the Sharks don’t use the picks to move up, they’re not completely worthless. Some of the team’s best players have come out of the later rounds of the draft. While Joe Pavelski was San Jose’s most famous seventh rounder, there were also guys like Jason Demers and Justin Braun drafted in the seventh round that turned into NHL quality players.
The second round has yielded former players like Ray Whitney, Sandis Ozolinsh and Matt Carle, as well as current players like Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Mario Ferraro and Thomas Bordeleau.
The point is, don’t knock the lower draft picks; there can still be value in them.
How the Sharks rebuild looks following the trade
While time will tell whether this trade was truly worth it for the Sharks, one year later, it looks like it did exactly what it was supposed to do. It gave the Sharks two young forwards on different timelines in Zetterlund and Musty. It also gave the team a quality defensive prospect as well as a potential middle-pairing defenseman.
There are two more draft picks and best of all, cap space to work with.
While Meier is a great player and he will be missed, he is unable to play three positions at once. Three or four years down the road, we could see Musty, Mukhamadullin and Zetterlund all leading the Sharks into the playoffs.
Fingers crossed.
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