The New Jersey Devils are walking into 2026-27 with plenty to prove, and Timo Meier remains one of the players who will shape whether this group finally stays upright from start to finish.
Meier’s 2025-26 season was solid, even if it fell short of the level he’s shown before. He played 77 games and finished with 44 points, scoring 24 goals and adding 20 assists.
Five of those games came off the board because of a personal leave of absence in December, when he stepped away to attend to a family matter. By his standards, it was his lowest-scoring season since he became a full-time Devil, but he still ranked fourth on the team in points.
His year stretched beyond the NHL, too. Meier was named to Sweden’s Men’s Hockey Team for the 2026 Winter Olympics, where he got off to a fast start with two goals in the opener against France.
His tournament hit a snag when he was suspended for the semifinal against Norway after a knee-on-knee injury. Switzerland still shut out Norway in that game, and the team finished fifth overall.
Now the focus shifts to what comes next in New Jersey. Meier is entering the fourth year of his eight-year contract, a deal worth $70.4 million, and the expectations stay high.
He is a lock for the top six and projects to line up on the left side with Nico Hischier at center and Dawson Mercer on the right. That group looks like the Devils’ top line heading into the season, though there is also a path for the trio to move between the first and second line if Sheldon Keefe decides Jack Hughes’ unit deserves the top spot.
There are milestones waiting almost immediately. Meier is only two games away from 700 in his NHL career, and that mark should arrive right at the start of the season.
The catch is that New Jersey opens on the road against the New York Islanders on Oct. 3, so he won’t reach it in front of the home crowd. Even so, it’s a major number for him to hit.
The next scoring benchmark is within reach, too. Meier needs 21 more points to get to 500 for his NHL career, and that should happen this season.
The bigger climbs are farther off: he is 59 goals short of 300 and 62 assists away from 300 in that category. Those are tougher asks, but the 500-point mark is well within range.
As for the season itself, the expectation is more production. Meier has already shown he can stack points, and the projection here is that he gets back over 60.
He has done that twice before with the San Jose Sharks, but he has not reached that number with New Jersey. His first two full seasons with the Devils produced 52 and 53 points, which is enough to show the ceiling is there.
Another strong year is coming, and Meier should be right in the middle of it.
In Other News...
Three Devils Prospects Are Running Out Of Time To Break Through
The Devils have a small but important cluster of prospects heading into a pivotal season, with Josh Filmon, Ethan Edwards and Seamus Casey all entering the final year of their contracts. Each one is at a different stage of the climb, but the common thread is simple enough: this is the year they have to show real progress if they want to stay in the conversation. For Filmon, that means hanging onto a roster spot in Utica while bringing more offense. Edwards has to keep pushing for a larger role and prove he can stand out in a crowded field of call-up candidates.
Casey brings the highest ceiling of the group, but his path is tied just as much to availability as ability, because staying healthy is central to his development and his chance to earn NHL looks. The Devils have seen enough from all three to believe there is still something to work with, yet the margin for patience is getting thinner. With contracts running down and competition everywhere, this season may determine whether they become part of New Jerseys next wave or just another set of prospects who never quite broke through. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Fans Just Got A New Reason To Watch Quinn Hughes Closely
Nico Hischiers new extension with the Devils carried the kind of message fans in New Jersey love to hear: he said loyalty to the organization and a desire to give back helped shape his decision to stay. For a franchise that has spent years trying to build real stability around its core, that kind of commitment matters as much as the contract itself, especially when it comes from one of the faces of the team.
Elsewhere around the league, Quinn Hughes has become a player worth monitoring for a different reason. Minnesota GM Bill Guerin recently cast some uncertainty over Hughes priorities while also leaving the door open to trade possibilities, which is the sort of comment that tends to ripple quickly through the NHL rumor mill. For Devils fans, it is another reminder that the market for top-end talent can shift fast, and that even the leagues most closely watched names can suddenly enter a conversation nobody expected to be having. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Face A Bigger Question As Hischier's Status Keeps Rising
Nico Hischiers place in the league keeps climbing, and the latest sign came this week when NHL Network ranked the Devils captain No. 43 on its list of the top 50 NHL players. It comes on the heels of his five-year contract extension in New Jersey, another reminder that the organization is building around a center who has become one of its most important pieces both on and off the ice.
The Devils will also have plenty of national exposure to show off that core, with their 2026-27 broadcast schedule including 12 games on ESPN and TNT. But as the roster picture gets clearer in Newark, the larger question around Quinn Hughes is not getting any simpler. Cale Makars eight-year extension in Colorado only tightens the salary-cap squeeze across the league, making it more difficult for the Devils to find a path if they want to chase another elite defenseman. [Read more 🡒]