Meier shows why he's so valuable — as Jets GM watches
With all eyes on him, including ones belonging to Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, Sharks forward Timo Meier delivered another standout performance.
Showing why he's the NHL's most sought-after player prior to the March 3 trade deadline, Meier had five shots on net, a couple of hits, two takeaways, two power-play points, and the winning goal in overtime as the visiting Sharks came back to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Meier had a chance to win the game for the Sharks (16-2511) at the end of regulation time, but his shot attempt on a breakaway with just over a minute left in the third period went off the crossbar. A second shot attempt by Meier about 50 seconds later whistled just wide of the net.
Still, Meier now has 51 points in 52 games and his goal at the 2:19 mark of overtime, off a pretty pass from Erik Karlsson, helped him reach the 30-goal mark for the third time in seven NHL seasons. He joins Patrick Marleau (7), Joe Pavelski (5), and Logan Couture (3) as the only Sharks players to score 30 in a season more than twice.
“He played great,” Sharks defenseman Scott Harrington said of Meier. “We needed our big guys to step up and kind of lead us when we weren't playing well and I thought he did a great job with that.
“I thought obviously Erik had a great game again and then (Kaapo Kahkonen). Those weren't the only guys that stepped up, but those guys sure made a difference for us.”
The Jets (32-19-1) are among the teams that might have significant interest in Meier. Cheveldayoff's presence at the game was mentioned on air Tuesday night by Sharks play-by-play announcer Randy Hahn.
As Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman has mentioned, the Jets are an organization that wants to acquire players with term, as they're fearful — and perhaps rightfully so — that they might pay a steep price for a rental only to see that player walk in free agency after the playoffs are over. See Kevin Hayes in 2019.
Meier is a pending restricted free agent who remains under team control for one more season. His current four-year, $24 million deal carries a $10 million qualifying offer for next season, but an agreement on a contract extension can always be reached ahead of time.
Winnipeg already has plenty of scoring punch with Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Jets also have a potential Norris Trophy candidate Josh Morrissey on the blue line and 2020 Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck in net. Meier's former Halifax Mooseheads teammate Nikolaj Ehlers is also with Winnipeg, just for good measure.
That's a group that can do some damage in April and May. Meier, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound winger who had 15 points in 20 playoff games in the Sharks' last playoff run in 2019, might be a key addition to help the Jets come out of a treacherous Central Division.
Sharks GM Mike Grier was also at Tuesday's game and might have bumped into Cheveldayoff at some point in the evening and exchanged pleasantries. Who knows?
If nothing else, the Jets might become another team that enters the Meier sweepstakes, which could only help Grier maximize his return.
Not that Sharks coach David Quinn is ready to see either Meier or Karlsson get moved. While Karlsson might not be dealt on or before March 3, it would be a surprise to see Meier remain in San Jose for the last six weeks of the season.
“I know everybody talks about the possibilities of what could happen,” Quinn said. “They're committed to our organization, they're committed to winning. I've enjoyed coaching them, I hope they don't go anywhere.
“It says an awful lot about their professionalism, the way they go about their business. They're two superstars.”