New Jersey Devils Have A Jon Merrill Problem

New Jersey Devils’ Jon Merrill has played in between hockey for two years. The team needs to figure out what it wants to do with him prior to the trade deadline.

Devils defenseman Jon Merrill was once a prized prospect for the team. Now, it seems like some think he can grow into a decent player, while others want to trade him for a 7th-round pick in 2040.

He was part of a group that included Eric Gelinas, Adam Larsson and Damon Severson. Right now, Larsson brought the team Taylor Hall, Gelinas brought them a third-round pick and Severson is filling nicely wherever the Devils need him on the blue line..

Merrill is currently on the second line of the defense, but that changes on a nightly basis. There are times where he looks like he is translating nicely after four years in the league, while other times he is literally a traffic cone.

What do the Devils do with Merrill? The team just put Seth Helgeson on waivers. Steve Santini is already on the roster.

The counting stats don’t look terrible for Merrill. His plus/minus (an extremely flawed stat) sits at -1. That’s very good when you consider the team as a whole is -33 (prior to the game against the New York Rangers).

The team needs to figure out what they want Jon Merrill to be. Do they think he is an asset that could stay on the team for years to come, or will he end up being another dump trade.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have to play a role in this decision. If the Devils protect the obvious defenseman in Severson, Andy Greene (but they might not) and Santini, then Merrill will be open for the plucking. Most teams will avoid putting their young defensemen out there, which means Vegas could choose Merrill from a Devils team that won’t offer much else.

The Devils are in a bad spot with Merrill. He is losing value every year (losing his status as a “young” defenseman), but he shows signs of improvement on some nights. He still makes pretty crucial mistakes that can cost a low-scoring team like the Devils games. Because of this, it may be time to see what Merrill could bring the team on the open market.