Dawson Mercer is expected to be a big part of the New Jersey Devils for a long time. He is just a tick below guys like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier as forwards who can help elevate this team to new heights. After the way his first two seasons have gone, we can expect even more.
This is a team that has high expectations coming into this season. They have a ton of really good players that are expected to make this team a Stanley Cup contender. They were great last year and are only going to get better. Mercer is one of those players and a big reason for that.
Now, training camp is here and Dawson Mercer has some pretty high expectations for himself. Last year, Mercer was outstanding. He had a great CorsiFor which suggests that his underlying numbers are great but he was also just a great producer of offense.
In 82 games played (Mercer has played in all 82 both times), Mercer scored 27 goals and had 29 assists for 56 points. He was also +22. A lot of people don’t like +/- any more and for good reason but him being that high is certainly not a bad thing at 21 years old. He was -25 the year prior.
The New Jersey Devils are expecting a lot from Dawson Mercer going forward.
You can probably expect Mercer to eclipse both 30 goals and 30 assists this season. It is likely that he finds a permanent spot on the wing in the top six which means he’ll always have one of Hughes or Hischier down the middle. That is a great spot for him to be in entering his age-22 season.
This is also the last year of his entry-level deal with the New Jersey Devils. Obviously, that is going to create discourse about his next contract. If he gets even more goals and points this season, he should be expecting a big raise.
It is hard to guess what his average annual value might look like but it is not hard to see that he wants to be with the New Jersey Devils. He made that much clear on the first day of training camp. He loves this team and wants to be with them for a long time.
#NJDevils Mercer on his expiring contract: “I love it here. This is my home … that’s not a distraction. I don’t think about that when I come to the rink. I only think about helping my teams.”
— Sam Kasan (@samikasan) September 21, 2023
Tom Fitzgerald has Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Jesper Bratt all locked up for a long time. As far as forwards go, adding Mercer to that list has to be near the top of his priority list. This is a good player that wants to be a Devil so they have to make sure that gets done.
It is a great time to observe the New Jersey Devils as they are entering what should be a fantastic season. Dawson Mercer’s year ahead is going to be so fun to watch.