The Devils don’t have much time to keep waiting on Timo Meier.
He has looked engaged shift to shift, and effort has not really been the issue. The problem is what that effort has produced, and the numbers are starting to tell a pretty uncomfortable story.
Meier’s first full season in New Jersey offered real encouragement - even with 13 missed games, he scored 28 goals and finished with 52 points, which projects to about 33 goals and 62 points over an 82-game season. But the last two years have trended down, and the early returns this season are making that slide harder to ignore.
Last season, Meier finished with 24 goals and 44 points in 77 games. That was one more point than he had in 2023-24, but it took him 11 more games to get there.
For a player who is currently the highest paid Devils forward, that’s not close to enough. It’s also a long way from what the team thought it was getting when it traded for him.
There’s now at least some concern that this isn’t just a dip - it could be the start of something more permanent. Meier just turned 30, and while that’s not old in NHL terms, most forwards are past their prime by that stage.
His game has also been built on some physicality, and that kind of style can wear a player down faster. He remains in the Devils’ top six, so the standard has to stay high unless his role changes.
Right now, he has one point in six games, an assist in the team’s loss to Utah.
That places him tied for 11th among the 20 Devils skaters in scoring. He’s tied with offensive machines such as Stefan Noesen and Amadeus Lombardi, and he’s still behind Jesper Boqvist.
The only Devils forward with fewer points is Cody Glass, who is averaging more than five fewer minutes per game than Meier. Given Meier’s cap hit and the minutes Sheldon Keefe is giving him, the offense has to be better.
Six games is a small sample, sure, but a player in that role cannot spend long looking this muted. A pace of 14 points over a full season, with no goals through the first six games, is the kind of start that gets attention fast.
That doesn’t mean the goals will stay away all year. Meier has always been streaky, and he does have a habit of heating up in March.
There’s little reason to think he’ll finish with only 14 points. But the bigger question is how much he can rebound from here.
A return to the 28-goal version of Meier would go a long way, even if the assists never really pile up. If he ends up below last season’s total, that would open the door to a real offseason conversation, no matter how the Devils finish.
New Jersey has been average to below average to start the year. One obvious way out of that rut is for Timo Meier to start looking like a top-six forward again.
In Other News...
Devils Rookie Is Forcing A Tough Call Before The Rangers Game
With a crucial meeting against the Rangers looming, Sheldon Keefe is already tinkering with his lineup as the Devils try to keep building on a recent win. Anthony Mantha has been moved, Arseny Gritsyuk has been bumped onto the top line, and the coaching staff is clearly looking for the right mix as New Jersey tries to sharpen up a team that has had to manage questions in goal and on defense.
Amadeus Lombardi has become part of that discussion for a less welcome reason, with his recent penalties putting him in danger of sitting out to avoid giving New York's power play any extra chances. For a rookie, it is the sort of early-season test that can tighten a coach's leash fast, and it leaves the Devils weighing upside against discipline in a game where every mistake feels magnified. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Send An Early Message With Tough Veteran Bench Call
Johnathan Kovacevics return to the lineup has already nudged the Devils into an early defensive decision, and it says something about where the team is headed under its new coaching staff. New Jersey is trying to play faster and more up-tempo this season, which means the blue line has to keep up with that pace as the group settles into a different kind of rhythm.
Brenden Dillon has been the odd man out in recent games, with the veteran currently viewed as the seventh defenseman on the roster. If the Devils stay healthy and the lineup holds, this arrangement appears likely to remain in place, a sign that the club is willing to prioritize speed and fit over veteran comfort as it reshapes its back end. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Need More From These Forwards Before This Becomes A Problem
The Devils are still sorting out a new-look roster after opening the season at 3-3, and the early scoring has followed a familiar script. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt have done their part at the top of the lineup, but the next layer of forwards has yet to consistently pull its weight, leaving New Jersey a little too reliant on the usual names for offense.
Dawson Mercer, Amadeus Lombardi and Timo Meier are among the forwards the Devils need to see more from as the schedule settles in, because the gap behind the leading scorers is hard to ignore early. New Jersey does not need everything to click at once, but if that secondary production does not arrive soon, the lack of depth scoring could become a real issue for a team trying to establish itself in the opening weeks. [Read more 🡒]