Devils Timo Meier Offers First Comment on Controversial Martin Necas Hit

The New Jersey Devils were off for a travel day on Sunday. Therefore, Timo Meier’s first comment on the controversial hit that got him tossed against the Carolina Hurricanes was reserved for Monday after practice in California.

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In the third period on Saturday, Meier met ‘Canes forward Martin Necas in the neutral zone with a big hit that got the Devils forward ejected from the remainder of the game, receiving a five-minute major for kneeing and a game misconduct.

According to Meier, he opted for the reserved approach at the moment, knowing there was nothing he could do about the infractions he received.

“You know, the referee makes the call, and it is what it is,” Meier said to the media on Monday. “As a player, you got to accept it, even if you’re not happy with it. And, you know, I didn’t really say anything. So, yeah, move on from it. It happened, and now just move on from it.”

The hit certainly threw the internet into a tizzy. Devils fans, of course, sided with their player. While Hurricanes fans sided with theirs.

From the view of the bench, you could see head coach Sheldon Keefe didn’t agree with the call on the ice that saw Meier thrown from the game.

Following the hit, Necas laid on the ice holding his leg as if he were in pain. However, the Carolina forward didn’t miss a single shift. In fact, he played three and a half of the five minutes of the Devils’ five-minute penalty kill.

“The guy laying on the ice plays three and a half minutes of the five-minute major,” Keefe said of the Meier ejection. “That’s a tough one. A tough message for the players that if you take a big hit, laying down on the ice has its benefits.”

Sunday came and went, and Meier didn’t receive any further discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety in relation to the controversial hit.

One could argue that perhaps the league felt it wasn’t a dirty hit. Rather, one that was incidental with one player trying to make a physical play, while the other tries to avoid a hit.

Certainly, that’s how Meier saw it.

“I tried to hit him, I led with my shoulder,” Meier continued with the media. “And then he kind of tried to get out of the way. Maybe it looked a little bit awkward, but I thought it was a clean hit. The referee made the decision. So, like I said, I got to accept that as a player and move on.”

The Devils and Hurricanes closed out the season series on Saturday. Therefore, they won’t meet again in the regular season and will have to wait until a potential playoff series to meet again.

And if they do, they Devils won’t forget what Necas did to make Meier’s hit appear worse than it was.

“I think there was an injury there that might have been blown out of proportion there by the player and our team didn’t like it, so we maybe were a little extra physical, and they pushed back. It happens,” Paul Cotter explained.

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