The San Jose Sharks ink their most important restricted free agent Timo Meier to a deal that will keep in the Bay Area for four more years.
Free agency began with the sad reality that the San Jose Sharks would be losing their captain to the Dallas Stars. However the day took a positive turn with the announcement of Timo Meier signing a four year 6 million dollar average annual value contract extension.
The San Jose Sharks continue to perpetuate their reputation of convincing restricted free agents to take deals that facilitate both the current state of the team and the future possible earning power of the player.
The team announced the news around noon Pacific time but reports indicated that the deal was going to get done earlier in the day.
Timo Meier proved that he was worth the long-term investment with a stellar 3rd season in the NHL. The Swiss born winger compiled 66 points, with 30 of them being goals and ranked in the top of the league in many underlying statistics.
For more context Timo Meier placed in the 10 top in total individual high danger corsi for and individual scoring chances at 5v5, per naturalstattrick. This essentially means that Timo Meier spent a lot of time in front of the opponents net and was able to create space in order to generate effective opportunities to score himself or set up teammates.
This contract will take Timo Meier into his age 27 season, setting him up for a significant payday when he becomes an UFA in 2024 a year after their other star forward Tomas Hertl’s deal expires, per CapFriendly.
At any rate this locks Timo Meier into the San Jose Sharks cup window that still remains open despite the loss of Pavelski. The 22-year-old has a huge opportunity next season to take an even bigger role on Team Teal’s roster. It’ll be interesting to see the progression of Meier’s game over the course of this contract.