Confirmed Signing with Link: [NJD] F Dawson Mercer re-signs with the Devils (3 years, $4M AAV)

[The Crypto Guy]

Damn that is a pretty sweet cap hit for NJ.

Not if he plays like he did last year.

 

[Forge]

I would respectfully disagree with you. If he is bad defensively, why did Jersey use him on the PK?

In fairness, EV defense and penalty killing is not the same thing

 

[DollardStLaurent]

In fairness, EV defense and penalty killing is not the same thing

I don't understand. He's poor defensively even strength but a good penalty killer? I think if you look at the metrics, you'll find he's above average defensively even strength.

 

[NJDevils#4]

Good deal

 

[CanadienShark]

Not if he plays like he did last year.

How about the year prior?

 

[The Crypto Guy]

How about the year prior?

Sure. 56 point player for 4M is great.

 

[Jerzey Devil]

Devils have a nice culture of taking a team discount. Let’s see if Luke matches Jack’s contract.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

Good deal for both sides.

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

He is pretty bad defensively and can't be trusted at center, so he really needs to score points in order to provide value. Last year he struggled to score points and it really hurt his value. With NJ getting healthy and adding some significant depth, and a new coach, I think his numbers will bounce back and he'll get a very nice contract in 3 years (either in NJ or elsewhere).

He is in that perfect sweet spot of young enough and cheap enough that if he REALLY sucks you can probably find a desperate team to take him as a reclamation project, and if he REALLY improves you can trade him away for a small ransom.

How is he pretty bad defensively? Not to mention he hasnt even turned 23 yet

Try not to speak in absolutes

 

[cc]

Even for a bridge deal, it seems a little low for his production potential.

 

[Jared Dunn]

If you'd have asked me in June what contract he would get, this is exactly what I would have said. What took so long?

Probably trying to see if there could be a way to get a long-term deal done and just wasn't possible with their cap structure

 

[Petes2424]

Unfortunately we see lots of kids come up and hit things in stride, but once dmen figure out their tendencies, etc, it’s that 3rd and 4th gear we need to see before we can feel real comfortable a player will consistently score at the NHL level.

That’s where Mercer is at right now. Hopefully he had a big, productive summer and takes that next step. Much like a Lucas Raymond took last year. Doesn’t have to be to that extent, but he has to find that consistency, and ability to adjust to what dmen are giving him. In Jersey, he’s gonna have to earn those opportunities as well. It’s not like he’s not competing for top 6 minutes.

So nothings gonna be handed to him. This will be a big season for him. If it mirrors last season, he’s likely not gonna be in NJ for the long term. They’ll use him at the deadline.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I always wonder what his point total ceiling is with NJ.. NJ obviously have some other offensive studs on the team that put up more points than Mercer and get the prime mins on the first line and first PP group… Mercer is a good young player but seems as though he will be on that second line and 2nd PP for quite some time.

What do Devils fans think his ceiling is?? I always think he should every season be in the 50-60 point mark roughly???

Seems like a good contract for both sides

If he's played with one of our top 2 centers and played on PP2 he should be able to reach 60-70 points.

Mercer's 5v5 p/60 with 4 most common linemates in last 2 seasons:
w/ Hughes: 2.40 (451 mins)
w/ Hischier: 2.20 (545 mins)
w/ Haula: 1.72 (591 miins)
w/ Meier: 0.81 (445 mins)

This past year his most common linemates were Meier and Haula. If they aren't going to play him at center, he should really be getting regular shifts with with Hughes or Hischier.