In the biggest trade of Mike Grier’s brief tenure as San Jose’s general manager, the Sharks sent winger Timo Meier and defenseman Scott Harrington to New Jersey for a mix of draft picks, including the Devils’ 2023 first-round selection, NHL players and prospects.

Besides New Jersey’s first-round draft pick this year, the Sharks acquired a conditional 2024 first-round selection, defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Nikita Okhotiuk, and forwards Fabian Zetterlund and Andreas Johnsson.

The Devils also received minor league players Timur Ibragimov, Santeri Hatakka, and goaltender Zach Emond. San Jose will retain 50 percent of Meier’s remaining contract through the 2022-23 season. Meier’s cap hit for this season is $6 million, although he is making $10 million in actual salary.

The Sharks entered Monday with a record of 18-30-12 -- fourth-worst in the 32-team NHL.

Grier said the trade makes the Sharks stronger, both for next season and beyond.

“I think this speeds up the process,” Grier said. “There were some scenarios out there I could have just gotten all (draft) picks back and things like that. But we think that the players we got back are moving far along enough on the development path that they’ll be able to help us soon.

“Then obviously the picks, along with our own picks, it’s something where I think this really helps kind of speed things up a bit.”

The Sharks also received New Jersey’s seventh-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft and parted with the 2024 fifth-round selection they acquired from Colorado in last year’s trade involving Andrew Cogliano.

Meier, 26, was the NHL’s most sought-after player prior to the league’s trade deadline this Friday. Before sitting out the last three games with what was described as an upper-body injury, Meier, a pending restricted free agent, had 31 goals and 21 assists in 57 games.

Even with Meier, though, the Sharks entered Sunday 29th out of 32 teams in the NHL standings, on pace to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season.

Grier said the Sharks were not ready to make the type of financial commitment, and dedicate the kind of salary cap space, needed to re-sign Meier, whose next contract could be worth well north of $65 million over eight years -- which would have made him San Jose’s highest-paid player.

But getting the haul he did from the Devils, Grier feels the Sharks can become a more competitive team sooner rather than later.

“I think we’re going to flip this around more quickly than some people might expect after this trade,” Grier said.

Meier is making $10 million in salary this season, as he is in the last year of a four-year, $24 million deal he signed in July 2019. He is due a qualifying offer of $10 million if he and the Devils cannot reach an agreement on a long-term contract before the start of free agency this summer.

Meier has not yet agreed to a contract extension with the Devils.

The 6-foot-1 and 220-pound Meier was drafted ninth overall by the Sharks in 2015. Since he turned pro prior to the 2016-2017 season, Meier is the Sharks’ fourth-leading point-getter, with 154 goals and 316 points in 451 games. Only Logan Couture scored more goals (162) in that time.

Although the Sharks have missed the playoffs each of the last three seasons, Meier showed at a young age that he could be an impactful postseason performer. He has 20 points in 35 career postseason games, with 15 points in 20 games in 2019 when the Sharks advanced to the Western Conference final.