The New Jersey Devils should target Mason Marchment in free agency

The gritty winger could bring some different elements to the lineup.

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By Alex Chauvancy (@AlexC_THW)

When New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald held his end-of-season press conference, he spoke about how he wants to add something different to the team's roster up front.

It's not hard to read between the lines and figure that he's hinting at adding more size to help complement Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and some of the smaller forwards on the team. 

There's a fine line when adding size to an NHL roster in 2022. It's not like the NHL of yesteryear. A player still needs to be able to score in a league where goal-scoring spiked to numbers we haven't seen in quite some time. 

Several forwards fit that bill in free agency, but one player Fitzgerald and the Devils should have high atop their free-agent wishlist is Florida Panthers winger Mason Marchment.

The 6-foot-4, 209-pound winger finished this season with 18 goals and 47 points in 54 games. The soon-to-be 27-year-old had a breakout campaign in 2021-22, but even though that's the case, Marchment could end up being a real bargain in free agency. 

Marchment's breakout year

Marchment is the definition of a late bloomer. His first real taste of NHL action didn't come until last season, when he played in 33 games for the Panthers, totaling two goals and 10 points. Before then, he spent most of his time in the AHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs' affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. He was a respectable scorer in the AHL, but the signs of a breakout weren't always there until he joined the Panthers. 

Even though Marchment did not score much in 2020-21, he finished with a Corsi for percentage (CF%) of 54.82 percent and an expected goals percentage (xG%) of 55.22 percent at five-on-five. The underlying numbers suggested that maybe there was another level to his game. However, I'm not sure anyone could have predicted what he would have done this season.  

In simplest terms, Marchment was fantastic. He finished this season as the Panthers' most-efficient five-on-five scorer, averaging 3.42 points per 60 minutes. He also led the team in CF% (60.62 percent) and xG% (63.41 percent). Marchment topped the Panthers in goals above replacement (GAR) at 20.5 and tied Sam Reinhart in wins above replacement (WAR) at 3.6. 

Marchment's most common linemates this season were Anton Lundell and Reinhart. Lundell had an impressive rookie year, while Reinhart had one of the best years of his career. That line was a significant reason why the Panthers had such great depth up front, as they posted a CF% of 62.20 percent and xG% of 66.78 percent in about 198 minutes together. 

But even when not a line with Reinhart and Lundell, Marchment still posted a CF% of 62.23 percent and xG% of 63.77 percent. He only spent about 90 minutes with Aleksander Barkov, so it's not like Barkov was carrying him if he wasn't on a line with Reinhart and Lundell. When paired away from Marchment, both Lundell and Reinhart's numbers dropped off: