Speculation: F - Dawson Mercer, RFA

[Jersey Fan 12]

In light of the recent offer sheets to Holloway and Broberg, it's kind of surprising that teams have yet to take a run at him.

Thanks to two more overpayments in free agency the Devils are boxed in by the salary cap and would have a hard time matching an offer.

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[Ace Card Bedard]

I don't think the Devils would have a hard time matching.
He's looking at a bridge deal.

2x $4.5M?

 

[Peasy]

Wouldnt be shocked the biggest reason the other offersheets happened were because Stan Bowman is now the GM and other gms around the league arent afraid to step on his toes, or hell, they may even want to for a bit.

 

[HockeyScotty]

I don't think the Devils would have a hard time matching.
He's looking at a bridge deal.

2x $4.5M?

Yeah they have ~$5 million in cap space and no other RFA's to deal with; so any offer sheet that is trying to jam them against the cap would be over $4,580,917 and would net them a 1st and 3rd; which I would say isn't a bad deal for them.

The only strategy in getting Mercer's AAV pushed up for two years would be setting up New Jersey for an offer sheet on Luke Hughes next year; but that seems extremely risky maneuver with little guarantee of success.

 

[CupfortheSharks]

It takes two to tango. GMs can offer contracts to RFAs all they want but does Dawson Mercer want to leave the Devils? If a player is happy and likes the outlook for his team he will want to stay. A good agent will take any interest by other GMs and use it as leverage in negotiations. We only hear about the offer sheets that get signed by players who want out or feel like that is their only way to get paid. So, a better question than why hasn’t any GM taken a run at him is does Mercer want out of Jersey?

 

[HockeyScotty]

I don't think there is any other situation out there that creates a good environment for a successful offer sheet with two exceptions:

Arthur Khaliyev with LA Kings. If any team wants him, why bother trading an asset, just offer up to $1,511,701 on a 1 year deal. He already wants out of LA. They only have $1,321,666 in cap space (I'm sure they could make another $775k available by putting someone in Ontario but I don't think they want to pay him that much in any case.

There would be no draft pick compensation either; it's a "free asset" for someone willing to take a chance on him.

Same situation with Nick Robertson in Toronto.

Problem is there aren't many teams that have openings in the top 9. Edmonton would if they lose Holloway, Islanders if Tsyplakov is AHL bound, Avs and Vegas might also.

 

[pld459666]

It takes two to tango. GMs can offer contracts to RFAs all they want but does Dawson Mercer want to leave the Devils? If a player is happy and likes the outlook for his team he will want to stay. A good agent will take any interest by other GMs and use it as leverage in negotiations. We only hear about the offer sheets that get signed by players who want out or feel like that is their only way to get paid. So, a better question than why hasn’t any GM taken a run at him is does Mercer want out of Jersey?

Agreed. Money is one factor. A big one, but situational awareness is another.

Is Mercer strictly a center as described on a few sites, or can and does he play wing. If wing, he's probably playing with Hischier or Hughes and that's a very attractive situation for a larger contract in 2 years.

I don't think it's likely he's signing an OS unless it's for an ungodly AAV

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Devils have almost 5 mill in space, so unless you really want to pay him, it's not worth the effort.

 

[wintersej]

Agreed. Money is one factor. A big one, but situational awareness is another.

Is Mercer strictly a center as described on a few sites, or can and does he play wing. If wing, he's probably playing with Hischier or Hughes and that's a very attractive situation for a larger contract in 2 years.

I don't think it's likely he's signing an OS unless it's for an ungodly AAV

Mercer is way more wing than center.

 

[DomBarr]

In light of the recent offer sheets to Holloway and Broberg, it's kind of surprising that teams have yet to take a run at him.

Thanks to two more overpayments in free agency the Devils are boxed in by the salary cap and would have a hard time matching an offer.

Mercer is in a completely different offer sheet category. He is a 22 YO, 2 time 20 goal scorer who has played 3 full seasons.
An offer sheet to him is probably in the 6.1 to 8M category (which has a compensation of a 1st, 2nd and a 3rd Rd pick) if not more, a 7 yr 7M contract requires compensation of 2 1sts, a 2nd and a 3rd.

 

[pld459666]

Mercer is way more wing than center.

That makes alot more UNLIKELY that he signs an OS.

He's better than a 3rd line winger, so the opportunity to play with the two centers there will be huge for his future negotiations.

 

[Devilsfan118]

If someone out there wants to throw him an offer sheet that would net the Devils a 1st plus multiple picks, go for it.

 

[TageGod]

Wouldnt be shocked the biggest reason the other offersheets happened were because Stan Bowman is now the GM and other gms around the league arent afraid to step on his toes, or hell, they may even want to for a bit.

Can you elaborate one this? Why are GM's okay with stepping on his toes but no one else?

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

NJ has the cap space to match it BUT if they can get a 1st and 3rd or whatever it is in compensation, NJ will take that and run.

NJ is in a good position either way to deal with the Mercer situation

I don't see any team tho offering anything significant for him offer sheet wise... But then again who woulda though Broberg would receive an insane 4.5 per year offer lol

 

[Xirik]

Situations are totally different and not at all like each other.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

If someone out there wants to throw him an offer sheet that would net the Devils a 1st plus multiple picks, go for it.

A cost controlled Mercer is worth a lot more to NJ than a bunch of picks, including even a (presumably 10+) first.

 

[Xirik]

A cost controlled Mercer is worth a lot more to NJ than a bunch of picks, including even a (presumably 10+) first.

But we'd get to be excited about the draft early in the season!!

 

[LeProspector]

If someone out there wants to throw him an offer sheet that would net the Devils a 1st plus multiple picks, go for it.

Agreed, he’s not as valuable as some perceive,

 

[YP44]

It takes two to tango. GMs can offer contracts to RFAs all they want but does Dawson Mercer want to leave the Devils? If a player is happy and likes the outlook for his team he will want to stay. A good agent will take any interest by other GMs and use it as leverage in negotiations. We only hear about the offer sheets that get signed by players who want out or feel like that is their only way to get paid. So, a better question than why hasn’t any GM taken a run at him is does Mercer want out of Jersey?

i often wonder how many offer sheets are put forward and the player rejects.

 

[wintersej]

From a Bruins POV, I would move Coyle out for picks and offer Mercer something in the 1st+3rd range that walks him straight to UFA at the earliest age possible.

But the ordering of everything doesn't work. You can't trade Coyle until you know that NJ isn't matching and you are open to a Swayman OS in the meantime.

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

Yeah just not a guy the Devils should be paying long-term at this point. I have a feeling Fitz is trying to underpay or squeeze an extra year. He's clearly got a lot of friends on the team and will sign. Fitz prolly wants to maximize cap space for next year when LHughes needs to be resigned.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Devils have almost 5 mill in space, so unless you really want to pay him, it's not worth the effort.

The only way offersheets work is to overpay the player relative to the team's available cap.

Mercer is the exact type of player and situation that could induce an offersheet.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

Can you elaborate one this? Why are GM's okay with stepping on his toes but no one else?

Don't open Pandora's box. Some posters are really voracious regarding the Hawks/Beech situation (which is their right because it was despicable) and they typically want to crucify anyone remotely involved. They attribute the Blues operating within the rules (even though it happens rarely) as a team going out of there way to punish the Oilers for hiring someone who had been involved.

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

The only way offersheets work is to overpay the player relative to the team's available cap.

Mercer is the exact type of player and situation that could induce an offersheet.

Can you still structure an offer sheet with a painful last year, so the QO will make the next contract negotiations difficult? Throw a 2 year offer at Mercer with a $4.5m AAV (2nd compensation), but the 2nd year is $7m? Probably won't work if you want to get Mercer on your team, but if the goal is to throw a monkey wrench into the Devils' plans, it would probably do the job.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

The only way offersheets work is to overpay the player relative to the team's available cap.

Mercer is the exact type of player and situation that could induce an offersheet.

Disagree on the bolded. A team could also overpay relative to the original team's evaluation of said player, and they could be rather take the compensation. The Oilers offersheeted Dustin Penner almost 20 years ago because they evaluated his potential as a top line power forward, and paid him accordingly. The Ducks didn't see Penner playing at that level, so they chose to take the compensation (1st, 2nd, 3rd round DP).

For the most part though - I do agree with you. Offersheets are typically made when a team can't match for cap reasons. With that said - teams typically have a number of options available to them to make other moves to free up the necessary cap space.