Why Timo Meier makes sense for the Toronto Maple Leafs

The NHL trade deadline is two weeks away. It’s the time of the year when speculation is sky-high on where players could end up. This season, big names like Jakob Chychrun, Erik Karlsson, Jonathan Toews, Timo Meier, and Patrick Kane are on the trade list. All these names have been connected to the Toronto Maple Leafs in one way or another. NHL insiders have reported that Toronto would like to add a forward and a defenceman.

Today, I will discuss about San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier, why he would be a good fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and why a trade would make sense between the two teams.

Timo Meier is second in points on the San Jose Sharks. In 55 games, he has 31 goals and 21 assists for 52 points. The trade market for the 26-year-old forward has been gaining traction lately. On Tuesday, ESPN NHL Insider Kevin Weeks tweeted that the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes are highly interested in acquiring Meier.

Meier is a pending RFA with a $6-million cap hit, and his qualifying offer will be around $10 million. So he wouldn’t hit the UFA market until 2024.

The Leafs have a lot of good prospects in their system that can help make this trade work. However, Kyle Dubas needs to make this his all-in year by having any picks and prospects available. 

The Maple Leafs will likely play the Tampa Bay Lightning again in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Adding Meier would be huge to their top-six, as Tampa is like Toronto with their offence. The Leafs would be a deadly team with Meier on a line with Auston Matthews or John Tavares. With Meier in Toronto, he could be what they need to help them advance to the second round for the first time since 2004. 

With the addition of a top player like Meier, he can help with the power play, and you can have two units, with Matthews and Marner on one unit and Tavares, Nylander and Meier on the other. So that would be a huge success, possibly come playoffs.

Another plus side for the Leafs is that they could trade him at the draft and get a good return due to his RFA status. It would be a win/win for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Only time will tell what Kyle Dubas has up his sleeve for this year at the trade deadline.

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