Well New Jersey Devils fans, after two weeks of making all of you wait, the time has come. While goal scoring has not exactly been an issue, as New Jersey sits fourth in the NHL for goals scored, they have also been shut out five times. It can be argued that they ran into goaltenders having a good night or the simple "curse of former Devils goaltenders."
But what cannot be argued is Dawson Mercer has been struggling in more games than not. Yes this comes after scoring against the Blackhawks, but he only has two goals in the past 13 games. Yes, this is only one stat but his analytic stats don't perform well either.
For a topic so contentious, we decide to do a tag team effort on this. Taking you through this effort is Pucks and Pitchforks writers Rob DeLuca and Alex Chauvancy. You can also catch Alex's work at his Substack "Devils On the Rush" at the end of the article.
Dawson Mercer has been playing better as of late, but the scoring has been inconsistent aside from a two-month stretch to close the 2022-23 season. If he continues to struggle to score, should the New Jersey Devils move on from him? If so, who could they target in a trade?
Trade #1
Seattle Kraken and New Jersey Devils
The Seattle Kraken are in no man's land and might look to make changes ahead of the trade deadline. Though Jared McCann's name is not out there right now, he's someone the Devils should target for a scoring upgrade if he becomes available.
McCann is having another solid season, with 11 goals and 26 points in 32 games — a 28-goal, 66-point pace over 82 contests. He's averaged 34 goals and 68 points since the start of the 2022-23 season and would be an ideal finisher for Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt.
What's enticing about McCann is he's under contract through the 2026-27 season at a cap hit of $5.5 million. The Devils could hypothetically get three playoff runs from him if they acquired him ahead of this season's trade deadline.
The argument against acquiring McCann and including Mercer is that you think the latter could become McCann. Perhaps, but McCann is a proven 30-goal scorer, and he's even hit 40 once in his career.
Including a first for McCann is too much since you're swapping Mercer for him. The Devils have three seconds in the 2025 NHL Draft, so send whichever will be highest to the Kraken. If that doesn't cut it, a 2026 first with top-5 or -10 protection should be on the table.
You might not think McCann is worth that, but he is one of the more underrated scoring wingers in the NHL. He's a legit 30/30 candidate every season and is under team control for potentially three playoff runs. If you trade Mercer, that's the type of move to consider.