New Jersey Devils (finally) extend Dawson Mercer

Mercer put pen to paper on a three-year deal worth an affordable $4 million salary.

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The New Jersey Devils have finally found common ground on a contract extension with Dawson Mercer.

This morning it was announced Mercer – the team’s last restricted free agent – put pen to paper on a three-year contract extension worth $4 million per season.

This was a complicated negotiation for both parties. Thus, it’s pretty easy to see why it took so much time.

Mercer’s camp surely pointed out he burst onto the scene at a young age and, despite little aid from the power play, scored 44 goals while flirting with 100 points over his first two NHL seasons. Almost all of his points came at 5v5 and almost all were primary. He was extremely impressive.

On the flip side, GM Tom Fitzgerald likely had reservations about giving Mercer the keys to the car for the long haul after a 33-point campaign in which his on-ice numbers were less than desirable.

Mercer was outscored 54-39 during his 5v5 minutes. He also posted a sub-50 xGF% and, among regular Devils forwards, fared worse than all but Alexander Holtz in high-danger chance share. Not ideal.

There is a perfectly logical explanation for the decline in production and on-ice impacts, though.

Mercer simply didn’t spend much time with either Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier. He played only ~310 out of 1,100 5v5 minutes with one of the team’s star pivots.