BREAKING: Meier Questionable Tomorrow, Has Day-to-Day Upper-Body Injury

Don’t pack Timo Meier’s bags yet.

The Trade Deadline darling caused a kerfuffle this afternoon when he missed practice. A San Jose Sharks spokesman was quick to say that Meier was on the premises.

“Timo retired,” David Quinn joked when he approached us for his post-practice media availability, before giving us an actual status update on his pending RFA.

“It was an upper-body [injury],” Quinn reported. “We’ll see for [the game] tomorrow. Literally last second right before practice.”

In Meier’s place, the Sharks used defensemen Radim Simek and Nick Cicek on a line with Tomas Hertl and Nick Bonino, speaking to the last-minute nature of whatever the star winger is dealing with.

We'll ask Quinn shortly, it could be just a maintenance day. Labanc is now on a line with Sturm and Gregor, other lines and pairings look the same

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 19, 2023

The San Jose Sharks, per Quinn, are likely to call up another forward soon in Meier and/or Kevin Labanc’s stead. Labanc’s wife Kelly is due tomorrow, but because the team is playing in San Jose tomorrow, Labanc will prepare as if he’s playing until he gets the call to go to the hospital.

As for Meier, Quinn is still holding out hope that the San Jose Sharks retain his top goalscorer.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if any scenario happens, right? This isn’t an unrestricted free agent,” Quinn noted. “So there’s a lot of possibilities that can happen, which I think compounds his situation.”

He’s been proud of how Meier has handled the Trade Deadline spotlight though.

“He’s 26 years old, and he’s a phenomenal kid. He’s got a huge heart and he cares,” Quinn said. “As I jokingly said to him, I really don’t feel bad for you because you’re going to become a kazillionaire. But it’s tough to watch a guy carry the stress of the situation, I feel for him. He’s done a heck of a job managing it, continues to play great.”

The Trade Deadline is on Mar. 3.