Sharks’ Meier, NHL’s most-discussed player prior to trade deadline, misses another practice

SAN JOSE – Injured forward Timo Meier, the NHL’s most talked-about player prior to the March 3 trade deadline, is considered questionable to play Thursday when the Sharks face the Nashville Predators.

Meier didn’t practice Wednesday as he remained off the ice with an upper-body injury that occurred in the second period of Saturday’s home game against the Buffalo Sabres. Meier also didn’t practice Sunday and was not in the lineup for the Sharks’ 4-0 win on Monday over the Seattle Kraken, marking the first time he’s missed a game this season.

Sharks coach David Quinn initially believed Meier would be back for Thursday’s game but said Wednesday that the injury hasn’t progressed the way everyone had hoped. Meier was at Sharks Ice on Wednesday, a team spokesman said.

A tantalizing mix of size, skill, and speed, Meier, a pending restricted free agent with 31 goals and 52 points for a Sharks team that’s again going to miss the playoffs, has drawn interest from all corners of the NHL with the postseason now less than two months away.

Several teams have expressed interest in Meier, with the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes at the top of the list. The Devils would reportedly need to have a long-term contract with Meier in place before a trade can be finalized, but the Hurricanes would not necessarily need that kind of commitment right away.

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli and The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun both reported recently that the St. Louis Blues have also reached out to Sharks general manager Mike Grier about Meier. After trading forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly, the Blues now have three-first round draft picks for this year and can offer one or two to the Sharks as part of a package needed to acquire Meier.

The Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets are two other teams that have reportedly expressed interest, giving Grier a lot of options and perhaps the leverage he needs to extract the best package he can for Meier. Grier, who is said to be taking a cautious approach, watched part of Wednesday’s practice with assistant general manager Tom Holy.

The Sharks host the Blues on March 2. Other Sharks opponents on the homestand include Chicago on Saturday, Montreal on Tuesday, and Washington on March 4.

Others back soon: Defenseman Erik Karlsson and forwards Tomas Hertl and Mikey Eyssimont all sat out Wednesday’s practice, but are expected to play against the Predators. Karlsson was at the team’s facility Wednesday but was given a maintenance day and Hertl’s wife, Aneta, gave birth to the couple’s second child on Monday. Eyssimont was out with an unspecified illness.