Insider reveals that an Atlantic Division rival could swoop in and land Timo Meier

Timo Meier is intriguing for a variety of reasons, none more importantly than the fact that he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year - far more valuable than an unrestricted free agent. That means several teams that are in the bubble or even on the outside looking in will be interested in the 26-year-old's availability: Enter the Buffalo Sabres.

Elliotte Friedman made mention last week that the San Jose Sharks could explore allowing interested teams to talk contract with the impending RFA and to add fuel to that rumour, Meier neither confirmed nor denied, which is a tell-tale sign in it of itself. The Leafs have expressed serious interest in the Swiss goal-scorer and if the Leafs do pursue Meier with an extension in place as a part of the deal, it might be likened as an insurance policy in case William Nylander decides to walk into free agency in the summer of 2025.

However, bidding wars will ensue for his services and the Buffalo Sabres are not a team to scoff at when it comes to potentially making a trade for Meier, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. They currently have $18.26 million in cap space, they are projected to have over $31 million heading into the summer and their only upcoming free agent they desperately have to sign in the summer is RFA Dylan Cozens. They also have a nice young core of Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, and Owen Power to build around. The Sabres also hold 3 second round picks in the 2023 draft as well as all of their 1st rounders for the next 3 drafts.

The Sabres have a plethora of prospects, plenty of draft capital, and have playoff aspirations this year as they currently sit 3 points out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference but have 3 games in hand on Washington. A deal for Meier makes way too much sense for Buffalo and that should signal to the Maple Leafs and the rest of the interested parties that they might need to up the ante if they want to pry him out of San Jose to avoid missing out on Meier and having him land elsewhere within the Atlantic Division/Eastern Conference.