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The San Jose Sharks have traded forward Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils.
In addition to Meier, the Sharks are also sending defenseman Scott Harrington to New Jersey, along with prospects Santeri Hatakka, Timur Ibragimov, Zach Emond and a 2024 fifth-round pick.
In exchange, the Sharks will receive a 2023 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 first-round pick, forwards Fabian Zetterlund and Andreas Johnsson, defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Nikita Okhotiuk, and a 2024 seventh-round pick.
Meier is 26 years old and has been with the Sharks since he was selected ninth overall by the team in 2015. This season, the winger has scored 31 goals and 52 points in 57 games, an 82-game pace of 45 goals and 75 points. Meier is set to become a restricted free agent this summer and the Sharks are retaining half of his salary for the remainder of the season.
Harrington originally joined the Sharks on a professional tryout and played 28 games with the team this season, registering seven points. Hatakka and Ibragimov were both sixth-round picks of the Sharks in 2019, while Emond was a sixth-round pick in 2018.
Zetterlund, coming to San Jose, is 23 years old and was originally selected by the Devils in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft. This season, Zetterlund has scored six goals and 20 points in 45 games and will also be a restricted free agent this summer.
Johnsson is 28 years old and has spent the year in the AHL, scoring nine goals and 29 points in 36 games. He had previously been an NHL regular for four years, split between the Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs, and is set to become and unrestricted free agent.
Mukhamadullin is 21 years old and was selected 20th overall by the Devils in the 2020 NHL Draft. This season, the defenseman has managed 25 points in 67 games while playing in the KHL.
Okhotiuk was selected 61st overall by the Devils in 2019 and is 22 years old. He’s split the season between the NHL and AHL, playing 10 games with the Devils, while registering six points in 20 games with the AHL’s Utica Comets.
For some quick thoughts: I don’t think this is a poor return, but it’s not outstanding either. The Sharks certainly got a lot of pieces here, but it seems like kind of a quantity over quality situation. There’s a lot of potential with several of the pieces, but there aren’t necessarily any players coming to San Jose that are safe bets to be high-end NHLers.
Zetterlund is already a top-nine winger, but it remains to be seen as to whether he can continue to grow his role. Mukhamadullin does carry a lot of upside, but we’ll see if it all comes together in the NHL. Okhotiuk could be a solid defender, but his ceiling may not necessarily be quite as high. There’s also a good chance both of the first-round picks will be quite late.
At the same time, all it takes is a couple of these pieces to really work out for the Sharks and it'll end up looking like a great move in retrospect.
A full analysis of the deal will be out soon.
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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