Speculation: Who is the high quality player on your team who just isn't meshing on any lines?

Zippy316

aka Zippo
Aug 17, 2012
19,653
4,796
New Jersey
Meier is definitely starting to show a case for this.

He wants to play that drive the net hard with the puck game which requires him to have the puck a lot. Not to mention he’s a bit over aggressive in his passing and shot selection which doesn’t jive well with Hughes or Bratt. A little too one and done type player which detracts from Hughes/Bratt.

Then he’s also not well rounded enough to be a good option on a shutdown line with Hischier. The one and done style doesn’t fit Hischier either who is more of a grind it out guy.

Devils look like they’re going to try Meier-Hughes-Bratt and hope for a spark at some point. If he can find a way to be effective while not needing the puck as much, it could work. We’ve yet to see him effectively play that open up space for teammates disrupter role yet though.

I think by years end, we will see Meier - Haula - Noesen third line with the Devils finding a complimentary third wheel for Hughes/Bratt. At Meier’s salary, a third line role is not the best use of his game.
 
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biturbo19

Registered User
Jul 13, 2010
27,074
12,213
Meier is definitely starting to show a case for this.

He wants to play that drive the net hard with the puck game which requires him to have the puck a lot. Not to mention he’s a bit over aggressive in his passing and shot selection which doesn’t jive well with Hughes or Bratt. A little too one and done type player which detracts from Hughes/Bratt.

Then he’s also not well rounded enough to be a good option on a shutdown line with Hischier. The one and done style doesn’t fit Hischier either who is more of a grind it out guy.

Devils look like they’re going to try Meier-Hughes-Bratt and hope for a spark at some point. If he can find a way to be effective while not needing the puck as much, it could work. We’ve yet to see him effectively play that open up space for teammates disrupter role yet though.

I think by years end, we will see Meier - Haula - Noesen third line with the Devils finding a complimentary third wheel for Hughes/Bratt. At Meier’s salary, a third line role is not the best use of his game.

This is always the danger when you're dealing for a guy who looks great when he's the "focal point" or "go to guy" on a bad team. When you go to plug them in to a better team and ask them to play a more supporting, complementary role to better players...it doesn't always deliver those same results.

They're paying an awful lot of cap for a guy who is a bit of a square peg with either of their top two lines.


Can't help but think there are a number of teams out there who could get a lot more out of a guy like Meier though. Even just running him as "The Guy" on a 2nd line where he can just carry the puck a bunch and play his sort of game. Just awkward with the Devils since they're so clearly built around that 1-2 punch at Center.


Meier for Stamkos trade...who ads, who says no? Stamkos just too old period?
 

Zippy316

aka Zippo
Aug 17, 2012
19,653
4,796
New Jersey
This is always the danger when you're dealing for a guy who looks great when he's the "focal point" or "go to guy" on a bad team. When you go to plug them in to a better team and ask them to play a more supporting, complementary role to better players...it doesn't always deliver those same results.

They're paying an awful lot of cap for a guy who is a bit of a square peg with either of their top two lines.


Can't help but think there are a number of teams out there who could get a lot more out of a guy like Meier though. Even just running him as "The Guy" on a 2nd line where he can just carry the puck a bunch and play his sort of game. Just awkward with the Devils since they're so clearly built around that 1-2 punch at Center.


Meier for Stamkos trade...who ads, who says no? Stamkos just too old period?
Absolutely not on Stamkos.

Any deal is unlikely just because of Meier’s NMC. I don’t think anything happens for at least a couple years until Hischier needs a new deal. If they can’t find any chemistry between Hischier, Hughes, Bratt, and Meier, they’ll probably just resort to Meier playing the Kessel role on the third line, PP1, and extra man situation. Not the end of the world if Fitzgerald manages the cap well.

I still think it’ll work out though. There’s too much skill for it not to.
 

BKarchitect

Registered User
Oct 12, 2017
8,033
14,246
Kansas City, MO
3 points and in four games this season and 17 goals in his last 20 games last season. Yep he definitely isn't meshing.:shakehead

I feel like if Meier had the exact season he had last year but had his October and November swapped with his February and March, the narrative around him wouldn’t be nearly what it turned into. I’d wager there would be no narrative at all frankly. It would simply be “yeah, really good top flight power goal scorer”.

His season last year is the poster for “people remember what you did in the first two months when there is a blank slate more than what you did in the last two months”.
 

tmg

Registered User
Jul 10, 2003
2,945
1,657
Ottawa
Devils look like they’re going to try Meier-Hughes-Bratt and hope for a spark at some point. If he can find a way to be effective while not needing the puck as much, it could work. We’ve yet to see him effectively play that open up space for teammates disrupter role yet though.

This is a lot of the ‘best of what’s left’ approach when they locked in on putting the Hischier Mercer Tatar band back together that was one of the best two way lines in the league in 22-23. They were a combined +96! Because none of Hughes Bratt or Meier is suited for a third line role, it kinda forces them together as the other line in the Devs top 6.
 

Flair Hay

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Jun 22, 2010
12,388
5,354
Winnipeg
For example, IMO on Winnipeg, Ehlers is an above average player, but does not seem to fit with any of the Jet's other top 5 players. Posting this thread to see what potential trades make sense.
Ehlers actually fits really great with Scheifele, he just does not play with him very often at all.
 

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