Devils discussion (news, notes and speculation) - offseason edition

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

imagine if we had given Mercer the longterm $6m/year (or whatever it was) contract that Jim whined about last year? whew boy.

 

[My3Sons]

imagine if we had given Mercer the longterm $6m/year (or whatever it was) contract that Jim whined about last year? whew boy.

I expected Mercer to bounce back this past season and hit around 30 goals and 60 points. It makes little sense to me that he has lost talent at his age so there is a better player in there to be unlocked.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Could be but it sounds like he’s been dealing with it for multiple years.

Could also be they didn’t really generate as many shots as a team as they done in years past.

I think one of his flaws is that he’s sometimes isn’t as selfish as he should be

Could also mean it's the reason he doesn't go top shelf on breakaways and other times when he's in close and the keeper is down, but he shoots the puck low and often completely on the ice. People go nuts as to why he can't go to the top of the net. Small injuries or tweaks prevent simple skills that a guy has always had, but don't work when hampered by these physical issues.

This shoulder problem could also explain his missing the net with regularity.

It's a simple thing that can be played with, but it does create little nuances with his puck skills.

 

[Better Call Sal]

I expected Mercer to bounce back this past season and hit around 30 goals and 60 points. It makes little sense to me that he has lost talent at his age so there is a better player in there to be unlocked.

I'm with you in that I think he absolutely has more that he can give. He hustles, he has scoring ability. There's no reason to me that he cannot be a complementary scoring piece. But I've said it too many times at this point; he's weaker on the puck than you'd like. He doesn't win enough battles. He doesn't drive the net as much as he should. He shot a little bit more this year, but I'd still like to see him try to put the puck on net more.

I think if he improves on even just one of these aspects, he likely has a better season than one of his last two. I want him to succeed, he's too damn likable.

 

[JrFischer54]

His contract is not good?

He's a point per game, right shot forward that makes $8.5 million for the next 5 years.

The next 5 years are precisely in the thick of the Devils window, and this team lacks a right shooting, goal scoring forward. Filip Forsberg's contract brings him through his age 31-35 seasons. Players of his caliber tend to have a history of being very productive until they are around 35, the age at which his contract ends.

It's a good bet he will produce similar to the way he has recently for 4 out of the remaining 5 years of his deal. If you have to move an $8.5 mil contract with 1 year remaining at the end, there will be a way to do it.

people are so scared of the back end on contracts i have zero concern for them. just move the player down the lineup i'm sure they will be serviceable in a lesser role even with the high cap hit. you are paying for the production now not 5 years from now its just a necessary evil

 

[JrFischer54]

When someone says that a player leads the team in points, not scoring.....does that make any sense?

I thought scoring involved Points?

Am I taking crazy pills here?

scoring is easier to say then leads the team in goal scoring

 

[RANDOMH3RO]

I still have faith Mercer can be a 30-30 guy for the devils and be a legit top 6 winger. He absolutely needs to show improvement next season though, 3 years of spinning his wheels would be disastrous and it would be his last season as a devil I imagine. Absolutely needs to work his ass off to get stronger on the puck this summer.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I expected Mercer to bounce back this past season and hit around 30 goals and 60 points. It makes little sense to me that he has lost talent at his age so there is a better player in there to be unlocked.

he's been that player since the end of the 2023 season though. How much longer will we hope that he will "bounce back"?

 

[Better Call Sal]

I still have faith Mercer can be a 30-30 guy for the devils and be a legit top 6 winger. He absolutely needs to show improvement next season though, 3 years of spinning his wheels would be disastrous and it would be his last season as a devil I imagine. Absolutely needs to work his ass off to get stronger on the puck this summer.

I'd settle for 23-22. He hasn't hit 40 points in two consecutive seasons while playing in every game. 45 points, roughly a 10 point upgrade from this past year while continuing his solid defensive play would be nice to see.

 

[Zacha37]

I’ve kinda lost faith in Mercer. Other than his linsanity run during the 2023 season, he hasn’t impressed me all that much. I believe his best hockey came when riding shotgun to Jack, and that he really can’t create that much offense on his own. He hustles and can be a valuable piece, but he really needs to step it up physically and offensively.

 

[Bad Goalie]

I liked him in his brief stint. Worthwhile guy to keep around.

Comets fans will like this move as well.

 

[Hisch13r]

I expected Mercer to bounce back this past season and hit around 30 goals and 60 points. It makes little sense to me that he has lost talent at his age so there is a better player in there to be unlocked.

I figured he’d be better and would’ve had like 25 and 50 but also he was just so bad in 23-24 there was no justifying giving him a big long deal. It was too risky and he proved that belief right. I do think he was a quite a bit better last year than 23-24 but that’s also only because I thought he was god awful for a lot of 23-24.

 

[MadDevil]

So Bratt's been dealing with a shoulder issue for several years, while also producing more every year? Hopefully the "Bratt is soft" crowd can STFU now.

 

[Hisch13r]

So Bratt's been dealing with a shoulder issue for several years, while also producing more every year? Hopefully the "Bratt is soft" crowd can STFU now.

We’re back to Mercer>Bratt

 

[devsfan8]

I still have faith Mercer can be a 30-30 guy for the devils and be a legit top 6 winger. He absolutely needs to show improvement next season though, 3 years of spinning his wheels would be disastrous and it would be his last season as a devil I imagine. Absolutely needs to work his ass off to get stronger on the puck this summer.

I think its more or less the other way around with Merc Dog. He had the great 2nd year in 23 with 27 goals. Every other season he has been around 20. Thats all he is. Thats what he gets paid to be. Ill take 20 goals all day. Just let him be on the RW of the 3rd line. THAT BEING SAID....in the right move, yes you have to part ways with him.

 

[edevils]

I expect Gritsyuk to be a regular next year, I do not expect Lenni to be an NHL regular next year.

I rather give Lenni a spot than sign Sprong.

he's been that player since the end of the 2023 season though. How much longer will we hope that he will "bounce back"?

He's 24. He's on a decent contract. Never gets hurt. Just keep him. We know what we're getting. He's not going to get worse. If anything he's going to improve with experience.

His value is down all over the league. It's not like we're going to get a great return for him.

We have bigger issues than Mercer. Just keep him at this point.

 

[tailfins]

Given the way the roster is currently constructed, the two pivotal guys seem like Mercer and Luke.

Mercer should just watch tape of Jarvis all summer. He needs to bring that intensity and awareness to his game.

And hopefully Luke can turn into a 25 min / night all situations #1D.

If those things happen, I think we see a vastly different Devils team.

Otherwise, I just don't see enough improvement available from Jack, Nico, Bratt, Timo, Dougie to see how next year is materially different.

(Gritsyuk, Nemec, Casey are wildcards - obviously if there's star production from one of those guys, that changes things. But, feels unfair to put those kinds of expectations out there.)

 

[Better Call Sal]

I rather give Lenni a spot than sign Sprong.

There's no real need to decide between the two. Sprong shouldn't cost much of anything to keep and there's no need to rush Lenni unless he proves he's ready. If he does, then it's easy to just scratch or waive Sprong if it comes down to it.

 

[edevils]

There's no real need to decide between the two. Sprong shouldn't cost much of anything to keep and there's no need to rush Lenni unless he proves he's ready. If he does, then it's easy to just scratch or waive Sprong if it comes down to it.

I guess we can find 1.5 for sprong somewhere.

I don't like his game and have little confidence he will improve.

If he signs, I hope I'm wrong.

 

[devsfan8]

he's been that player since the end of the 2023 season though. How much longer will we hope that he will "bounce back"?

Who says he ever has to bounce back? Why can't he just be a depth 15-20 goal guy who had a careeer year in 2023? That's what his salary dictates. His durability and the fact he is young and NEVER gets hurt on a team where i thinkevery player was injured to some extent this season are as important.

In the right deal of course Mercer has to be considered a candidate, but I would not look to deal him.

 

[Better Call Sal]

I guess we can find 1.5 for sprong somewhere.

I don't like his game and have little confidence he will improve.

If he signs, I hope I'm wrong.

He was only making $975k this year and got waived. I can't imagine he'd cost much more, if at all.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I absolutely look to package Mercer for an upgrade, and I think his value around the league might be higher than what it actually is. I think he has a reputation for being a hard-nosed good defensive player when in reality, he isn't really that.

 

[JK3]

Can we hold off on the dumpster diving until mid July?

 

[Guadana]

FireFitzSquad(FFS) should at least wait until Fitz will make his move.

Because obviously he will not be fired.

 

[JrFischer54]

glad bratt is getting the shoulder fixed probably why he didn't show up during the playoffs but weird to wait year/s to get it done? guess thats one good thing the olympics are helping with