Adding Timo Meier To Vegas Golden Knights Would Be Substantial

Timo Meier has been in the NHL rumors for a bit now, and one of the interested teams is the Vegas Golden Knights. There are two other seriously involved teams including the New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes. The Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues are also in the mix. With just one week until the trade deadline, the clock is ticking for teams to make a deal.

What Impact Meier Would Have For Vegas

The Vegas Golden Knights ownership is not shy about pulling off huge trades. Take, for example, the Jack Eichel trade. They came close in their first season in the league to winning a Cup, falling short to the Washington Capitals in the 2017-18 Cup Final.

Adding a dominant forward like Timo Meier would greatly increase the chances that Vegas would have to capture their first championship. He has really shined this season with 31 goals and 21 assists in 57 games.

What About the Salary Cap?

As of this writing, the Golden Knights have just under $8 million in cap space. This is after they made a deal with the Arizona Coyotes to trade Shea Weber‘s $7.86 million contract for Dysin Mayo along with a 5th-round pick this year.

This freed up needed cap space necessary to make some additions to the team, especially with the injury to Mark Stone. His $9.5 million cap hit was transferred to long-term injury reserve. Not having a key forward like Stone available creates the need for a forward like Meier.

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Adding Meier to the Lineup

Even if Meier is just a rental, he will give the Golden Knights an exceptional opportunity to go deep into the playoffs. The Vegas club has the sixth-best record in the NHL They are currently leading the Pacific Division with a 35-18-5 mark. They are on a 6-1-3 run over their last 10 games.

Owner Bill Foley is on a mission to win a Cup. He is not shy about making deals to improve his team. Whether he could find a way to add Meier to his lineup after this season concludes is an unknown at this time. But, don’t underestimate his abilities. If Meier continues to play as he has, it may be a good choice to move other players to pay Meier’s $10 million qualifying offer required to retain his services.

Could Meier be Used as a Rental and Then Moved?

That certainly could be a possibility. It may depend on how much Foley wants a championship sooner rather than later. Any team who came as close as the Golden Knights to winning it all will try to get there again. This is a talented team even without a goalie like Marc-Andre Fleury. They still are placed 11th in goals allowed per game with a 2.78 average.

If they can win a Cup with Meier, it may be a difficult decision to trade him. They may not have a choice. But having an asset like Meier can give them some options at the trade deadline. Meier would attract many suitors and if Foley can acquire Meier, he may win either way.

Other Teams Want Meier

Between the Devils and Hurricanes, it may come down to which team offers the general manager Mike Grier of the San Jose Sharks the best deal. The Sharks are rebuilding and Vegas still has their first-round pick to use as leverage.

Whether it will be Vegas, Carolina, or New Jersey will soon be revealed. One thing is certain, no matter which team wins the Timo Meier sweepstakes, they will be a much better team with him.

Let the bidding wars begin!