Confirmed with Link: Merrill re-signs for 2 years

[Devils Trap]

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[Bleedred]

Good.

DSP and Bennett next please.

Guess Pete didn't want him enough?

 

[Lou is God]

Wow, that's very reasonable

 

[Emperoreddy]

Very reasonable. Good job Ray.

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Well done. Had an off year last year, but he's definitely capable of bouncing back.

 

[GDDevils*]

Good work Ray

 

[Bleedred]

As I said, if he's the worst part of our defense, I think we're doing pretty good.

 

[Cheddabombs]

Still think he can be a solid 2nd pairing guy for us, great deal

 

[NJDevils17]

I think he'll be better. Injury was tough on him but he has all the tools to be a solid guy in the bottom 4.

 

[NjDevsRR]

I want Merrill to eventually become a Ben Lovejoy. A steady good skating dman , nothing flashy.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

Good deal. Hopefully we see two strong seasons from Merrill.

 

[BadFella]

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

don't like Merrill ALL that much but that is fair

hopefully he is on the 3rd pairing

 

[Brooklyndevil]

We needed to have him back. Shero kicking ass. Get Palimeri signed. $6 ml @ 5 years.

 

[Brodeur]

Still not quite sure I understand not sending QOs to Merrill/DSP/Bennett. But que sera, sera.

 

[RSeen]

We needed to have him back. Shero kicking ass. Get Palimeri signed. $6 ml @ 5 years.

500-750k less, year longer makes sense.

 

[mtnet]

Hope he shows some worth after recovery this year, at least he's cheap...

 

[devilsblood]

don't like Merrill ALL that much but that is fair

hopefully he is on the 3rd pairing

I'd think if we were getting hopeful it would be that he regains some of the promise he showed as a rookie.

 

[NJDevils17]

Merrill was awful last year. No real way around that but we've seen him play top 4 defense at the NHL level. It's not like he forgot everything he knew. He had an injury and struggled with his partners last year. I think Merrill can still be a 3/4 longterm here. He's similar to Lovejoy in that he doesn't do anything great but is good at everything.

 

[liquid1988]

Shoulda been a 1 year deal but either way its not bad. Well see what becomes of him....Not holding my breathe though

 

[Marshal Rochambeau]

Good contract

 

[JimEIV]

Merrill did have very strong moments this season. It seems many don't want to acknowledge his good stretches. There were periods when he was as good as any defenseman on the ice

There is no question that he struggled this season. Especially his last bunch of games.

Overall he is a better defenseman than Moore but that isn't saying much.

I think this is a very critical year for Merrill we either see the improvement/ consistency or we move on. But I'm willing to wait and see considering the good we've seen within the first 160 games of his career.

 

[Emperoreddy]

First and foremost he has to stay healthy.

 

[JimEIV]

First and foremost he has to stay healthy.

Yeah that has been a major problem throughout his career.

 

[Bleedred]

Maybe give him some power play time next year.

I feel like last year that his offense was so incredibly bad, that he's not even really anywhere near as bad at offense as he was.

It sucks that the only goal he scored last year never really happened, because it wasn't televised.