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.

 

[Aoko]

4M is highway robbery.

 

[AfroThunder396]

I would respectfully disagree with you. If he is bad defensively, why did Jersey use him on the PK? He was second on the team for forwards SH TOI per game behind Haula.

1.) Defense and penalty killing are not the same thing. Mercer is a good PKer but is a dog chasing cars at 5v5.
2.) Load management for stars who could PK (Hischier, Bratt) but would rather be deployed in other situations. Hischier in particular got overused on the PK out of necessity when the centers started going down.
3.) NJ's depth was depleted from injury (Nosek, Bastian), non-hockey stuff (McLeod), and the loss of other PKers last summer (Sharangovich and Boqvist).

NJ's roster was really stressed at the end of last year due to depth. With Hughes playing through a shoulder injury that left him unable to take faceoffs and McLeod off the team, NJ's center depth was basically Hischier + Haula (better as a winger) + Lazar (4th liner).

People think he's good defensively because he's a good old Canadian boy who skates hard and looks like he's hustling, the kind of young player that would make Don Cherry proud. But he really doesn't know what he's doing in his own zone - blown coverage, overcommitment, not knowing his assignments. He's physically quite weak and bad at winning board battles.

He had a -20 goal differential at ES, 2nd worst on the team and T-24th worst in the league - comparable to Huberdeau, Ovechkin, Mike Hoffman, and Brendan Gallagher.

He has a lot of talent but has really failed to develop his game since he came into the league. He plays the same way he did when he was 19. Us Devils fans have spent the whole summer hoping he will pick a lane - either get leaner, faster, and more explosive, or get bigger stronger, and more physical. Either would work, but right now he's not fast enough to blow by defenders in the way Hughes/Bratt can, and he's not strong enough to win battles like Meier/Palat can.

Right now he's just kind of stuck as an above average talent going out there and playing street hockey with no direction or identity. Maybe Keefe's structure will help him. This contract could easily be a steal, but as of right now he certainly hasn't earned anything more.

 

[My3Sons]

Not if he plays like he did last year.

Look who showed up to crap on something good for NJ. I am so surprised as that is so out of character for you. You never purposely try to antagonize the NJ fanbase as that would be a ToS violation.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

4M is highway robbery.

For who?

Seems like a fantastic job by Mercers agent to get that amount BUT also this kinda seems like the going rate for a player like Mercer for the most part… I’d say it’s pretty much as fair as it gets for both sides

 

[dgibb10]

Sure. 56 point player for 4M is great.

Would you say the same about Alexis Lafreniere?

 

[TheBeard]

Mercer sold low on himself.

 

[Aoko]

Mercer sold low on himself.

Yep. Great for the team, not so much the player. I'm sure his next contract will be massive.

Hope he has a 70+ point season under a competent coach like Keefe.

 

[MakoSlade]

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

I figured Mercer would sign for more $$ and 2 years, so this works well for the team. Looking at comparable young defensemen I figure Luke will slot in at the same 8 Million dollar range.

 

[Team_Spirit]

He held out that long to get that? What an absolutely bizarre deal to have signed.

Happy for the Devils as a team though.

Maybe the initial offer was lower

 

[JimEIV]

No way should've Mercer signed a 3 year deal at all let alone for that little.

He should've did two for 3.5. head into the 3rd year with arbitration rights...

It's a great deal for New Jersey, it was almost an absolute necessity for the Devils to sign Mercer for 3 cheap years with Luke Hughes needing a contract at the end of this year, Simon Nemec the year after and Nico next.

Brisson dropped the ball on the Mercer deal.... probably too busy having a wet dream over the up coming Luke Hughes contract.

 

[dgibb10]

No way should've Mercer signed a 3 year deal at all let alone for that little.

He should've did two for 3.5. head into the 3rd year with arbitration rights...

It's a great deal for New Jersey, it was almost an absolute necessity for the Devils to sign Mercer for 3 cheap years with Luke Hughes needing a contract at the end of this year, Simon Nemec the year after and Nico next.

Brisson dropped the ball on the Mercer deal.... probably too busy having a wet dream over the up coming Luke Hughes contract.

Who says he could have gotten 2 for 3.5?

 

[Juxtaposer]

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.

A lot of things that make someone a great penalty-killer are not things you see great 5v5 defenders doing. Namely, icing the puck at all costs, selling out to block shots, and simply killing time by forcing outside passes. None of these things are good attributes at 5v5 but will make someone an excellent penalty killer. You don't need high hockey IQ to be a good penalty killer, you just need hustle and the willingness to block shots.