Devils Need to Get Creative to Spark Meier

Timo Meier hasn't played poorly, but the New Jersey Devils need to find ways to get more production out of him.

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The New Jersey Devils will be a team worth keeping an eye on ahead of the trade deadline. Until then, they need to find more scoring from their internal options. One player they need to get going is Timo Meier, who has 29 points in 43 games.

It's not that Meier is playing poorly. In fact, it's the opposite. But for someone making nearly $9 million annually, the Devils need him to produce better than a 55-point pace over 82 games. What can head coach Sheldon Keefe do to get him going?

Meier Has Thrived at 5-on-5, But Lack of Power-Play Time May Be Hurting

Meier was coming off a career year in which he totaled 40 goals at the time the Devils signed him to his current contract. However, the general rule of thumb is $1 million added to the AAV for every ten points.

I probably should have sounded the alarm bells at the time the Devils signed Meier to his deal because he has never been an 80-90 point scorer. He's come close once, totaling 76 points in 82 games in 2021-22, but that's about it.

Still, he's always been a great player, and his underlying numbers with the Devils have been fantastic this season. Meier leads Devils skaters in expected goals share (xG%) at 59.21 percent, and they've outscored teams 29-15 with him on the ice at five-on-five.

Not only that, but the Devils have controlled just over 57 percent of the scoring chances and 60.4 percent of the high-danger chances with him on the ice. No matter how you slice it, the Devils' results have been excellent during his minutes.

Individually, Meier has been an efficient five-on-five scorer, averaging 1.9 points per 60 minutes. He's also been the team's second most efficient five-on-five shooter, averaging 9.59 shots on goal per 60 minutes, and he's first in high-danger chances per 60.

For the most part, the five-on-five results have been there. So what's the fix if Meier is playing so well at five-on-five? One option may be to get him back on the first power-play unit, and there may be no better time to do it.

The Devils' power play has been struggling lately, as they're mired in the middle of a 4/22 slump (18.1 percent). Meier has always been a threat on the power play, totaling 17 points a season ago and 23 between the Devils and San Jose Sharks in 2022-23.