Before Lindy Ruff considers Tim Meyer's spot on the Devils' roster, she must first worry about the health of her fledgling star.
Meyer, 26, has not played since Feb. 18 with a minor upper-body injury and will join the Devils on Tuesday when they fly to Colorado. Despitehis travel plans, it is unclear whether Meyer will make his New Jersey debut against the Avalanche on Wednesday.
"We don't know when it's going to happen," Ruff said Monday, a day after the Devils made a successful trade for Meyer. "We're going to take it day by day. He's mostly fine. He's been practicing and preparing for games. We want to make sure he's ready to play and not put him in a bad position because he hasn't practiced in a while.
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Echoing Roof, Meyer said he hopes to play soon -- the Devils face the Avalanche, Golden Knights and Coyotes this week -- but he's still figuring out when that should happen.
"I want to play when I can, but I listen to my body," Meyer said.
But where can he play when he returns? He will play in the first six, but will he be paired with superstar Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier, who has joined the Swiss national team?
"That's the conversation we had this morning," Ruff said. "This will be an ongoing conversation for some time. If you look at Nick's line now, it's good. So maybe we'll start with Jack. I would like to meet Nick and maybe they will play together. But more loving is the dynamic he plays with Jack.
Meyer has athleticism and excellent shooting and playmaking skills, so he can fit into any lineup. He's averaging 19.18 goals this year, which means he's beating opposing goalies with quality, averaging 22.6 attempts per 60 minutes.
Ruff said Hischier's line has gotten stronger recently, with Hischier, Dawson Mercer and Thomas Tatar posting a 71.25% field goal percentage and a 5-1 goal differential in their last five games. The NHL is perhaps the best option moving forward.
Regardless of where they end up, Meyer and Hischier are excited to finally be playing on the same NHL team. The Devils are 39-15-5 this season (second in the Metro Division), and Hischier knows his friend can lead them to their first playoff appearance since 2017-18.
"No," Ghischier said when asked if he was concerned about Meyer's place in the lineup. I know he's going to give his best wherever he is, so that's the coach's decision.
"They have a lot of good players, so I can't wait to see who I'm going to play," Meyer said. They have a lot of good people there."
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Ryan Navozinsky can be reached at rnovozinsky@njadvancemedia.com . You can follow him on Twitter @ryannovo62 .
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