Hello again everyone and happy Friday!!! (Two posts in one week... who dis?) I just couldn't help myself, I had to pop in again quickly. I haven't done a Fun Find Friday post in forever... but I had something that I couldn't help but share with you all.
This past Sunday Night, two of our worlds collided when the San Jose Sharks had an official "Pixar Night" during their home game against the Colorado Avalanche!
Naturally, you're all probably assuming that we went to it... but sadly we didn't. Eliot and I both really wish we could have gone out to San Jose for it, but with my big birthday trip coming up, it wasn't in the cards. However, because of how much we both love Disney, Pixar and the San Jose Sharks, I still wanted to share the details with you!
You're probably wondering why the Sharks had a Pixar Night. (To my knowledge, the Sharks are the only NHL team hosting one.) It appears that the evening was officially sponsored by Disney and Pixar as an Inside Out 2 Promotional event to coincide with the release of the movie on Disney+. Since hockey plays such an integral roll in Riley's world, it seems fitting that they chose an NHL game to host this promotion!
Photo Source: San Jose Sharks Newsletter Email
As if all that wasn't already cool enough, one of Eliot's and my all time favorite Disney artists, Jerrod Maruyama, created all of the artwork and marketing for the evening!
For most of the marketing, they used an Inside Out Pixar poster with the nine emotions. But if you look closely, you'll also notice a re-design of Sharkie!
Note: As soon as I saw the Sharks email about Pixar Night, I remember thinking that the artwork style looked familiar... I think my intuition had put two and two together that it was designed by Jerrod but my cognitive thoughts hadn't gotten there quite yet.
Jerrod even dropped the puck for the ceremonial puck toss before the game!
They also created Sharkie Pins with his artwork. Apparently, the lines to get the pin were ridiculously long, but Eliot's parents were able to get us one!
I also have to share a fun fact about why I think it was appropriate that the Sharks were the NHL team who hosted the event. Our very own Sharks announcer, Randy Hahn, has made a cameo in both Inside Out and Inside Out 2 as a hockey announcer! In addition to that, Kendall Coyne Schofield (a professional women's hockey player who plays for Team USA) is also in Inside Out 2 as a hockey announcer and she has worked on the Sharks network along with Randy! How cool is that?!?!
Throughout the evening, I enjoyed hearing Pixar music on the broadcast. We obviously didn't get the full game experience, so I missed whatever they did during commercial breaks or intermission, but it was fun to hear it sprinkled in during short stoppages in play. I caught three definite Pixar songs, Un Poco Loco (from Coco), You've Got a Friend in Me (from Toy Story), and Nobody Like U (from Turning Red).
After the event was over, Eliot and I noticed Sharkie had posted more images of himself as all of the emotions! (I didn't think this night could get any cooler... but it did.)
It looks like it was a really fun night! Hopefully, this will be the first of many official Pixar Nights at the Shark Tank! Eliot and I would love to attend one! °o°
The night that I've been looking forward to and also dreading has arrived. Tonight is the San Jose Sharks last game of the 2022-2023 regular season. And I'm not going to sugarcoat it... this has been a long season- filled with depressing losses, blown leads and only 8 wins on home ice. But, there were also some highlights.
Today, we're focusing on those highlights, because regardless of how tonight's game goes, we're ending the season at the bottom of the league. Other than how high our percentage of lottery luck towards the NHL draft is, this game doesn't mean anything.
So, let's take a look back at some of the highlights from this season:
The Sharks started their season off overseas as part of the NHL's Global Series. They had a scrimmage game in Berlin, Germany against a local team and then kicked off the season with two games against the Nashville Predators in the Czech Republic.
Eliot and I had so much fun at Opening Weekend at the Shark Tank! We met most of this year's team on the Teal Carpet and got a bunch of photos and a few autographs.
I just about melted when I met Timo and got his autograph on my jersey.
We attended the Doug Wilson Recognition Night when the Sharks lifted a banner to honor their former General Manager and player.
Flashing forward to mid-season, it was fun to watch Erik Karlsson during the All-Star Weekend. This is the first year that he was there with his kids. His daughter Harlow was out on the ice with him during the Skills Competition and she was such a cutie!
During the All-Star Weekend break, Tomas Hertl went to Disneyland with his wife and son Tobias. It has absolutely nothing to do with our season, but it was fun to see one of the guys at Eliot's and my favorite place! Fun must be always!!!
Eliot and I were blessed to go out to San Jose a second time this season in February.
During our second trip, we attended the San Jose Sharks Alumni Game with his entire family. We got to see many Sharks legends and we also checked out the Barracuda's new arena where the game was held!
We went to Sharks practice and were able to see Timo at his last practice before he got traded to the New Jersey Devils. He stopped his car on his way out of the player's parking lot to sign a puck and trading card for us.
Eliot and I met bunch of Sharks Alumni on the Teal Carpet. We took photos with our favorite players and Eliot got autographs on his trading cards and older jerseys.
We got "Jumbo" Joe Thornton's autograph on a puck!
We also got Patrick Marleau's autograph on a puck and Eliot's jersey!
We attended Patrick Marleau's Jersey Retirement Night and watched as his number 12 was raised up to the rafters of the SAP Center... the first Sharks number retired.
We watched Timo adjust and then thrive with the New Jersey Devils.
Speaking of additions to the Sharks family, the past few weeks, we've had lot of new Sharks debuting on ice. The end of the season is always full of new potential as the college season ends, but it's extra busy when your team isn't doing well. The coaches usually bring up a lot of younger players to expose them to the NHL level of play, and to see how they handle the opportunity. Eliot and I have enjoyed watching these new guys and cheering for their first points and goals!
Which brings us to the end of the season... and thankfully, we're ending the season on a few good notes. As I already stated, the San Jose Sharks position in the standings isn't so great, but there have been a few individuals whose efforts have paid off. A few Sharks, and former Sharks, hit some major milestones this past week.
Last Thursday, former Shark Timo Meier scored goal number 39 and 40. I wasn't sure if he was going to make it to 40 goals after he got traded to New Jersey. He hasn't been playing as many minutes, and he's playing on the 3rd line instead of the 1st. But he was able to get there during their game against Arizona. (Unfortunately, Eliot and I weren't watching that game. It's the only Devils game we've missed since his trade, but we were driving down to Boston that night.) I'm so glad he got a career high of 40!
Then on Monday, April 10th, a bunch of milestones were hit. Sharks Captain Logan Couture hit 700 career NHL points with an assist on the first goal of the game. Then, a few minutes later, the Sharks tv announcers told us that former Sharks Capitan, Joe Pavelski, reached the 1,000 NHL points mark during his game with the Dallas Stars.
And that wasn't it, defenseman Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks has been on pace to hit 100 points most of this season. The biggest question, was if he would reach it once the Sharks traded Timo Meier- the recipient of many of his passes that resulted in goals. As I mentioned, a lot of new NHL players have gotten ice time for the Sharks the past few weeks, so there was speculation if Erik would reach the huge milestone, but during that same April 10th game, he did it. Karlsson is only the 6th defenseman in NHL history to reach 100 points in a season!
So the past week has been pretty exciting in regards to individual efforts. After tonight, Eliot and I will switch over to cheering for the former Sharks in the playoffs. This year, there are quite a few playing for playoff bound teams- in fact there are 14 of them:
Timo Meier- New Jersey Devils
Joe Pavelski- Dallas Stars
Brent Burns- Carolina Hurricanes
Martin Jones, Jaycob Megna and Joonas Donskoi- Seattle Kraken
Barclay Goodrow- New York Rangers
Matt Neito and Andrew Cogliano- Colorado Avalanche
Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo- Winnipeg Jets
Evander Kane- Edmonton Oilers
Mikey Eyssimont- Tampa Bay Lightning
Jacob Middleton- Minnesota Wild
We are both looking forward to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and hoping that a former Shark might lift the Cup this year... but this New England girl would also be happy if the Bruins win. (With the season Boston has had, they're my pick!) Of course, I'm rooting for my personal favorites, Timo Meier in the east and Joe Pavelski in the west. But I'm sure the next two months will be exciting no matter how it goes!
As for the current San Jose Sharks, another season is coming to a close. It wasn't pretty, but we still bleed teal regardless. Here's hoping that next year will be better!
It's been 10 days since the Timo trade. I have been through a gamut of emotions over the past week and a half. At this point, it still hurts, but I've been feeling better about it.
The thing that has softened the blow the most is seeing how much New Jersey loves him. We heard through the grapevines that Devils fans were literally chanting "We want Timo" during games before the trade happened. And he organization also made it very clear that they wanted to be his trade destination.
Since the New Jersey Devils acquired Timo, I've become a part-time Devils fan. (Just like when Joe Pavelski signed with the Dallas Stars.) I even started following them on Facebook and Instagram. Their social media loves him. I swear every other post for the past ten days has been about Meier. (Not that I'm complaining about it.) They have photographed him at practice, interviewed him a few times, and made sure to include him in pretty much any and every post that they can.
It's nice to see how excited everyone is that they have him. Sure, there are a few people who doubt how good he actually is. And I can't say much; I'm still skeptical that we didn't completely blow this trade. But most people are super pumped to have him.
It's been a weird transition since he's still been recovering from the upper body injury that's kept him out of the Sharks line up the later part of February. Eliot and I were at least glad to see that he was injured. Not that I wanted him to be hurt, but I would have been more upset if he was being "bubble wrapped" before the trade deadline.
Thankfully, he's finally recovered though. He was able to participate in his first practice as a Devil on February 28th. (But I think he was just doing individual drills in a no contact jersey at that point.) Then, Timo made his debut with the New Jersey Devils in an away game against the Arizona Coyotes this past Sunday, March 5th. It was so weird to see him skating for another team, but Eliot and I were excited to see him on the ice playing again. And it didn't take long for him to bring "Timo Time" over to New Jersey. He ended up scoring a goal on his third shift of the game!
The announcers spent most of the rest of that game talking about him. We must have heard that he scored his first goal as a Devil in his first game as a New Jersey Devil about 15 times. They also spent a good portion of the game with the camera on him- whether he was on the ice or the bench. (Again, not complaining.)
But I have to imagine that all of this attention has put a lot of pressure on Timo. He's never struck me as the type of guy who loves the limelight. Now, he's got all of these people practically fawning over him and singing his praises. And he deserves the praise because he's a great player. But it must be a little bit nerve-wracking too.
And from watching him play, it's clear that he's going to have an adjustment period to get used to playing in their system. He wasn't in his usual position on the wing, or on the power play. It was really weird for us watching him play different positions. I can only imagine how different it is to be the person playing in them.
It's been an adjustment for me and Eliot too... I won't lie, it is really weird to watch him in a red New Jersey Devils jersey, but at least he's in Swiss colors. That's made it a lot less painful. I keep reminding myself that it could have been worse... he could have been in Vegas Golden Knight colors, and that would have broken me.
Another adjustment is trying to track him out on the ice. Not only has he been playing in different positions than what he (and us) are used to, but he's wearing 96 instead of 28. (One of the other guys on the team already had his number.) For both the San Jose Sharks and Switzerland, Timo has always been 28, so it's been weird for us to see him wearing that. However, he used to be number 96 when he was playing in juniors for the Halifax Mooseheads, so it's like he's going back to his roots.
I think having him be in a different number has also softened the blow a little. It's like his jersey number has been memorialized to me in way. And ironically, the same thing actually happened when Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns both left the Sharks. Pavelski is wearing number 16 in Dallas (instead of 8) and Burns is wearing number 8 (instead of 88). It probably sounds weird, but that's taken the sting out of losing them all a little bit. It's never easy to have your favorite players leave your team, but I'll always be crazy about my 8's... no matter the numbers or jersey colors they're now wearing.
I guess you could say that this new reality is sinking in, and I'm starting to be more ok with it. So, we're still in the twilight zone... but at least I'm getting more used to it. °o°
Tonight marks one week since Timo Meier got traded to the New Jersey Devils. I wish I could say I'm over it and that I've moved on, but it's far from the truth.
The past week has been painful... in more ways than one. It started off with the Timo trade, and ended with what would have been Papa's 90th birthday... the first one that's happened since we also lost Nana. So I've been in a depressive funk all week.
And to top it off, I have a massive head cold that started setting in Thursday morning and has only manifested as complete misery this weekend. What was going to be a productive weekend cleaning and organizing the house has turned into me sitting on the couch barely moving. Severe runny nose, sneezing, coughing, major congestion... basically, the only bright side is that I've tested negative for COVID, twice.
I feel like I've completely wasted this weekend, even though there isn't much that I can do about it. Eliot and I were in San Jose last weekend, and I had a million things I wanted to get done. My parents were originally going to be visiting, but when they cancelled their trip due to the massive snowstorm we got yesterday, all I could think about was how much Eliot and I would be able to get accomplished. Now here I sit... sick and not getting anything done. Blah...
My mood hasn't been great either. I'm still salty about the Timo trade. I absolutely hate the trade deadline. The Sharks traded Mikey Eyssimont to the Tampa Bay Lightning mid-week. He had showed promise the past 20 games with us- and had been playing on our top line. Then, they traded Nick Bonino to the Pittsburg Penguins right after our Thursday night game. (He was literally hugging Sharks goalie James Reimer out in the hallway- presumably right after he found out.) Thankfully, those were the only other guys we lost before the trade deadline... but it still sucks.
Right now, about half the team are people we don't know. Watching the Sharks the past few games has pretty much been a nightmare. In the past two games, we've had a 2-0 lead... only to completely blow it in the 2nd and 3rd periods. We just ended our longest home game stand with one win,five losses and one point from overtime (for the Chicago game Eliot and I went to in San Jose when we lost in the shoot out).
It's depressing... and it's even more depressing that this is probably what things are going to look like for a while. I'd be upset anyways about losing Timo, but by sending him elsewhere, it's like we're truly signing on to the rebuild. As Sharks fans, we have been spoiled a lot over how much we've made the playoffs since we joined the league in 1991. Now we are potentially looking at a multiyear rebuild. Eliot and I are Sharks fans through and through... but I think this is going to be pretty painful.
The only bright light on the horizon for the rest of today is that Timo might make his debut as a New Jersey Devil in their game against the Arizona Coyotes tonight at 7 PM. As sad as I am that he's no longer in teal, I do feel happy that he's now on a playoff bound team. Plus, the New Jersey Devils organization and the fans seem really happy to have him. Eliot and I have watched two New Jersey games this week, hoping we'd see Timo, and they were ecstatic about it. Apparently, Devil fans were literally chanting "We Want Timo" in the stands at a few of the games before the trade.
It still hurts that he is no longer a Shark, but I'm getting more accustomed to it. During the first Devils game that Eliot and I watched the other day, they interviewed Timo during the 2nd intermission. He seemed happy and excited to join their organization. I also read an article about another interview where he said he was excited to get to work to help them on their way to the playoffs. Seeing as the Sharks won't be in the playoffs for a while... this is a better position for him to be in.
Plus, the New Jersey Devils fans and their social media are absolutely thrilled to have Timo. Seeing how welcoming they've been to him makes me feel better. Truthfully, it's been nice to watch a team that's winning their hockey games. The Devils are third in the entire league right now. (Only behind Boston at #1 and Carolina at #2.)
So this is my life now. It's weird... I feel like I'm suffering through painful Sharks games yet I'm excited to watch the New Jersey Devils. It's twilight-zone like, but I guess this is what things are going to look like for a while now. At least Eliot and I have plenty of former Sharks on playoff bound teams that we can root for!
Anyways, I guess you could say that my March isn't really off to a great start so far, but hopefully it will get better. I'm hoping that my head cold goes away soon, so I can get off my butt and start actually getting some stuff done. I think that will make me feel better once I can check some stuff off of my to do list. I would really like to turn this March Sadness into March Cleaning and Organizing Madness! °o°
Blah... This is another post that I've been dreading writing... but the writing has been on the walls for a few weeks now. As of Sunday, February 26th at around 6:00 pm Pacific, "Timo Time" has officially ended in San Jose.
If you haven't already gathered from my previous Sharks posts, Timo Meier is (was) my favorite San Jose Shark. I've followed him on our team for years, and last year I even went so far as to follow and watch his games as he played with Team Switzerland in the 2022 men's ice hockey world championships.
Timo is a heck of a hockey player- and Eliot and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him play and grow through the years. He was drafted 9th overall by the Sharks in 2015. He's a home-grown talent that the organization has helped develop. He also played for the San Jose Barracuda before getting the call up to play for the Sharks.
Timo's done so much as a San Jose Shark. Two things that always struck me were his work ethic and his humble attitude. He's always working hard during the season and off-season to get stronger, faster and better. During interviews, he will always bring the focus back to the team instead of any individual efforts on his part. It probably doesn't need to be said, but it's easy to like a guy like that.
Meier's also a great asset to our team. He's 6'1", 220 pounds and he's expected to score 35-40 goals a season. He's the leading scorer on our power play unit. He easily plows through defense and he's good on the puck. The team can rely on him to make good decisions when he's on the ice. He's also what our tv announcers like to call a "big body" who can take hits and dish them out. He's a true power forward.
There are so many stats I could talk about, but only a few really seem to matter at the moment. This season, Timo has been the Sharks leading scorer and the person making the most plays towards the net. In fact, he's second in the entire NHL for shots on goal (to David Pastrnak of Boston). Last year, he was clocked in at the fastest speed at the time of the NHL All Star game. (The players all wear trackers in their uniforms now.) He's also one of two forwards in the entire league who have 30+ goals this season, and over 100 hits (Alex Ovechkin of Washington is the other).
And finally, the stat that I can't seem to stop thinking about... this season, the Sharks have 179 goals so far, and 31 of those are from Timo. He's produced 17% of our scoring, which might not seem like a lot, but he's ahead of everyone else by far. This is worrisome to me. Who the heck is going to go to the net and score for us now?
Honestly, it's no wonder that he was "the" top prospect in NHL trade rumors for the past few weeks. We've heard that so many teams were interested in him: New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights. One by one, the other teams have slowly been making trades- thus taking them off of the list of teams wanting Timo. I've been praying that each of them would find someone else and leave Timo where he was... but I knew it was getting close to the wire. The 2023 trade deadline is this Friday, March 3rd. So we knew there was a good possibility that something was going to happen before then.
Unfortunately for me, it was a long, dragged-out process. News of the trade came out hours before either the Sharks or New Jersey Devils made it official. (It was all over my Facebook newsfeed.) Apparently, there was one player involved who was injured, so they had to iron out a few of the details before it was official. But just after 6:00 PM, Eliot and I saw the official news posted on Facebook by the San Jose Sharks page.
I didn't really care about the details of the trade, but I suppose it matters what we got in exchange for what we lost. The Sharks acquired a 2023 first-round draft pick, a conditional 2024 first-round draft pick, and four players from New Jersey in exchange for Timo Meier and four players. I've never heard of a single one of these players other than Timo, but from what I hear, this is not what we "should" have gotten for him.
New Jersey fans were quick to tell us how good forward Fabian Zetterlund was. And I heard some good things about defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, but at the moment, the wound is too fresh and I don't really care. All that resonates is that we lost Timo.
Most of the fans knew it was coming, but they're just as upset as I am. The Sharks made a nice video tribute to say "thank you" to him. I wanted to share it here, but they never added it to their YouTube channel. (It's only on Facebook and Instagram.) I admit that part of me hated watching it... because that made the whole thing real.
I've gone through so many emotions since then. I really wish that I could say I feel good about what we got for Timo, but I don't. If you look at any hockey analysis, every single one will tell you that the Sharks lost the trade. It's too early to tell how our draft picks will turn out... we won't have an answer on that for a few years. And the guys we got could end up being good players and a great fit for San Jose. But losing our top scoring player, and a fan favorite, feels like a major gut punch right now.
I just don't understand the logic. Well... I do, but I don't. I get trading someone when their value is high. You want to make sure that you get a return investment instead of him just walking and signing with another team during free agency. Timo was pretty much the most talked about player at the trade deadline. Rumors have been swirling for weeks. He's a hell of a player, so of course everyone wants him.
I guess that's where you lose me. Everyone wants Timo on their team... so why didn't we? Why didn't Mike Grier get him to sign an extension with the Sharks. I mean, yeah, we stink right now. Our "window" for going deep in the playoffs is non-existant at the moment. It's going to be a few years before we do much of anything. No one wants to call it a "rebuild" but let's call it what it is. Timo is worth the money, but at the end of the day, the Sharks didn't want to commit to another huge contract. We're already tight on money, so they didn't want to take him on. I'm of the mind that he's a player we should have built the rest of our team around... but what do I know.
What I do know, is that the Sharks I first grew to love are gone. And it's depressing.
Ever since Joe Pavelski left and signed with the Dallas Stars, we've lost the magic that I felt. We haven't been back to the playoffs. We haven't had great regular seasons. It feels like we lost the heart and soul of the Sharks. That's not to say that the other guys aren't trying, because they are. I just think they lost all of their long time leaders in Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. And ever since then... we have been lost.
Which is another reason that I'm so upset about trading Timo. I'm one of the fans who think losing Joe Pavelski is one of the reasons we're in the mess we're in. He wanted a three year contract, and our former GM Doug Wilson wouldn't sign him to it. He walked... and got that contract in Dallas. He's been lighting the lamp and scoring like no other. In fact, Pavs was the Dallas representative to the All Star Game last year (along with Timo from the Sharks). He's been doing great. What I would give to have him back as a leader in our locker room and scoring all of those goals for us...
As you know, I was also a bit crushed when we lost Brent Burns. It's still hard to see him playing for another team, but at the end of the day, Brent wanted to go to a team that was going to make a run at the Stanley Cup. He's closer to retirement, and he deserves the chance to go for it. And I don't fault him for that one bit. I'm glad that he and Joe Pavelski have that opportunity... even if losing them still stings a little bit.
But this one really hurts. It wasn't Timo's choice to leave San Jose... and I think that is what really stings me the most. Pavs and Burnzie left by choice. Timo didn't.
I won't lie, I'm pretty devastated about it. But there really isn't anything that I can do.
Unfortunately for Sharks fans, Timo is now a New Jersey Devil.
So now that I've poured my heart out about the trade that took Timo away from us, I want to spend the rest of this post looking back at all of the fun memories we have. I figure that today is a fitting day to tribute Meier on "Timo Tuesday", and it's the 28th.
I think my favorite memory was when he scored five goals against the LA Kings back in January of last year. He put on one heck of a show. Eliot and I sat in awe watching it all unfold on our television. I only wish we could have been there in person to see it!
Another one of my favorite memories was seeing Timo Meier and Joe Pavelski back together at the 2022 NHL All-Star Game. They took a photo together on media day and my heart exploded into a million little happy smiling hearts. The next day, Timo and Joe sat next to each other during the Skills Competition. Joe had his son Nate out on the ice with him, and it really warmed my heart to see them all together. They picked up like no time had even passed. It was clear how much more comfortable Timo was talking and laughing with Joe and Nate. I really enjoyed seeing that.
There have been so many moments, so many games where he's scored a goal that was a complete game changer. My favorite was when he scored out of no where as the final seconds of the game ticked down during our game against Vegas. Sharks fans hate the Golden Knights and this game was a huge one for us. We had the opportunity to knock Vegas out of the playoffs, so the boys were ready to play the role of spoiler. Timo had even spoken about how important the game was prior to it.
So it was both fitting and absolutely incredible when Meier scored a goal to tie it up with less than a second left... literally... there were .9 seconds left. That sent the game into overtime. And we ended up winning the game in a shoot out!
But it was Timo's reaction to his goal that was most memorable. He was so pumped that he was basically taunting the Vegas fans by putting his hands on his ears as he skated over to our bench to celebrate. (They had previously been booing him at the All Star game, so he obviously wasn't bothered by their reaction.) The whole sequence of events was epic. To Sharks fans, that game was basically the equivalent to our Stanley Cup playoff experience last year. And it was amazing.
You don't hear it in the above clip since it's not our announcers, but I will never grow tired of hearing old video clips of San Jose Sharks tv announcer Randy Hahn yelling "It's Timo Time!" so many times the past few years.
It's not a memory of him in teal, but I really did enjoy watching Timo play with his fellow Swiss countrymen during the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation World Cup. I got really into it, and I knew most of the guys names by the time they finally got knocked out of the tournament. (I didn't know it at the time, but that apparently would be good since two of them also play for the New Jersey- the Devils have their own Swiss Army Knife of Swiss players!) I also discovered that I really love watching games overseas. The European fans get really into it with songs and cheers.
It was fun to see him featured while the Sharks were overseas earlier this year. During their time in Europe, they started out in Berlin, Germany. Our San Jose Sharks tv announcers dubbed Timo a "media darling" due to him being able to speak to the local media in his native German. (The part of Switzerland he's from speaks German- so he's fluent in that and English.) Even though we had no idea what they were saying, it was clear everyone wanted to talk to him about playing a few games closer to home.
He's also been in of plenty of the Sharks promotional videos. I love when they film the guys during their "off days". It's fun to see all of them hanging out and enjoying life outside of the rink. He's also been in plenty of their funny skits with lip reading and trying to speak his language. Another personal favorite is when they mic the players up during a game. It's always fun to hear them on the bench and out on the ice.
On a personal note, our favorite memory was when we were able to meet Timo in person and get his autograph back during our trip to San Jose in October. He was really nice, even though I was totally star struck at the time. He signed my brand new jersey and the trading card Eliot gave him. I asked if he'd take a photo with me and he said yes. I still can't believe it even happened... thank goodness I have the photo!
He's made so many amazing plays this season. It would be impossible to remember all of them, but I've cheered for every goal he's scored. I think my favorite was back on February 7th. During that game, he scored his 29th and 30th goals of the season... with the 30th one being a "Timo Time in Overtime" against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Unfortunately, we were robbed of our last memories of Timo wearing teal. He's been out with an upper body injury and not playing recently. Over these past few weeks, I've been watching his games more intently knowing this might be coming before the trade deadline. I have been holding my breath for our trip out to San Jose, hoping that Eliot and I would be able to to see him play in person in teal while at the Shark Tank one more time... but it wasn't meant to be.
Thankfully, we still saw him though. If he wasn't able to play, I was really hoping we could at least see him during our trip. And that part worked out perfectly.
Eliot and I went to the Sharks morning skate practice on Saturday. We couldn't figure out where to go into their practice to watch (it was at Barracuda Ice and not their usual practice facility) so we went back outside. The timing worked out really good. Eliot and I ended up being outside of their parking lot when a lot of the guys were leaving practice. We waved to them as they drove by.
While there, we got talking to the security guard. He knows all of the guys cars, so he told us Timo was still there. One by one, the guys kept coming out of practice and driving by. Eliot and I were outside of the player's parking lot for over an hour, but he finally came out. According to the security guy, Michael, he was the last player out that day. I didn't recognize him from so far away, but Michael told us it was him. Eliot and I waved as Timo drove towards us in his Mercedes hatchback.
Timo stopped just outside the gate where we were standing. He rolled down his car window and we were able to get my puck signed (for my Timo Meier puck case) and another trading card (that I'm putting in my office). He seemed a bit subdued, maybe even sad, but at the time I didn't think much of it. He had just been at practice and he was injured- so presumably, he had probably been getting treatment for the injury.
We thanked him for stopping and the security guard said we'd travelled all the way from Maine to see him. I said that was true... I'm so awkward. But I wanted him to know how important seeing him was to us and how grateful we were. Other than being in San Jose for Patrick Marleau's retirement ceremony, that was the main reason I wanted to go... I had a bad feeling that Timo would be leaving the Sharks soon and I really wanted to see him one last time. Little did Eliot and I know that we'd probably be some of the last (if not the last) people in San Jose to get his autograph.
I really wish that I'd said more to him. I'm sure he was going through a lot of emotions when we saw him. I just wish now that I'd said something about how we'd be fans and still following him and his career to matter where he ended up. Somehow, I hope that was conveyed to him. I'm just so thankful that things worked out the way they did and that we were able to see him in San Jose one last time before the trade.
And it's not goodbye forever. Eliot and I will still watch his games. At this point, the Sharks remainder of the season looks so bleak that it will be nice to watch a team that's still in the running for the playoffs. Plus, he's on the East Coast so games won't be as late. We're looking forward to cheering for him and fellow former Sharks Joe Pavelski (Dallas Stars) and Brent Burns (Carolina Hurricanes) in the playoffs!
We're also planning to go to Boston to see him play the Bruins on April 8th. Through my tears Sunday night, I asked Eliot to check the schedule and the Devils are in town the same weekend we were already planning to be in Boston. I decided then and there that we will be at that game no matter how much money I have to save up to go to it. (The Bruins are #1 in the NHL so their tickets are really pricey right now.) I'm looking forward to seeing him in Boston, even though he'll be in a Devils jersey. Eliot and I will don our teal Sharks jerseys, and I'm definitely wearing my Meier #28 one.
Who knows what will happen in the future. As of now, Timo hasn't signed on long term with the Devils. They have him for the rest of this year, and then they can extend his contract in a new deal or he can be qualified at $10 million. Daydreaming Melissa still hopes that he'll somehow make his way back to San Jose. Realistic Melissa knows we don't have the money in our cap space to pay him... unless Mike Grier does serious work on the books. Even then, we probably won't be cup contenders for another few years- so at least Timo has a chance to go win a cup somewhere. I'm happy for that.
But going forward, things won't ever be the same, and I'm definitely mourning that loss.
This one hurts a lot. It's much more painful than losing Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns because they both left San Jose as a direct choice that they made. Trading Timo to the Devils wasn't by his choice- he had no say in the matter- but he seems happy about it. In his first interview as a Devil over Zoom, he was excited about the future and how he could contribute to their run towards the playoffs and Stanley Cup. And for that, I'm truly happy and excited for him. I would love to see him lift the cup someday!
So, my varying and changing feelings aside, Timo Meier is now a New Jersey Devil.
To Mike Grier, I have a lot of questions, none of which I really want answered. But I will do my best to attempt to trust your judgement while it feels like you blow up the team I know and love on our way to a slow and painful rebuild. Hopefully a few years from now, the Sharks will be playoff contenders again and we will be singing your praises.
To New Jersey, please take good care of Timo- he really is a gem.
And to Timo... We wish you good luck in New Jersey! All of Sharks Territory will miss you greatly. Thank you for so many wonderful memories and "times" through the past seven years. I'll be cheering for you wherever you end up, and Eliot and I will both be looking forward to many more "Timo Time"s in the future. Until next (Timo) time... °o°
