The New Jersey Devils have a lot of questions about their forward group. Right now, they have 13 forwards that are essentially guaranteed a spot on the NHL roster, and that doesn’t include Lenni Hameenaho and Shane Lachance, who were expected to make the jump full time to the league by now. This also doesn’t include AHL guys who could make a leap, like Amadeus Lombardi, Marc McLaughlin, and the newly-signed Colin White.Â
That’s 18 forwards fighting for 13-14 spots. Of course, injuries happen, but we have to look at the lineup as it stands today. There are a few names that are locked in stone. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt are almost certainly playing together. Same goes for Nico Hischier and Timo Meier. Cody Glass is the third-line center, but beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess.Â
There are a few players who have no solidified role on this team. Stefan Noesen is one who is hard to peg. Does he make the roster at all, or will he start as a healthy scratch? That’s a hard pill to swallow at $2.75 million per season. The re-acquired Jesper Boqvist is likely a fourth liner, but he will have to prove to Sheldon Keefe, who he never played for, that he belongs as an everyday player.
The one who confuses us the most is Dawson Mercer. The former first-round pick has been really good at times, but the inconsistency turned a lot of people against him last season. He had promising runs in 2021-22 (as a rookie) and 2022-23, and he’s never missed a game in his career, but his numbers haven’t been impressive enough for what he was growing to be.
In 22-23, Mercer finished the season with 56 points. He followed that up with a 33-point season. Last season, he broke 40 points for the first time since that 56-point season. However, the faith in his growth is waning.
At just 24 years old, Mercer should still have another step he could take, but it’s hard to argue he should get the opportunity. It’s pretty clear he can’t be a long-term center, so he’s fighting for one of the wing spots next to Hughes or Hischier.Â
That competition is fierce, with Connor Brown, Evan Rodrigues, Anthony Mantha, and Arseny Gritsyuk all fighting for those spots this season. If we had to guess, we’d say Mercer has the inside lane to take one of those spots, but Brown played really well with Hughes last season, Mantha had 33 goals last season, and Gritsyuk is a rising star in the organization.Â
Dawson Mercer's spot in the lineup is clear... on the third line
Mercer could very easily be on a third line, and that might not be a bad thing. Imagine just for a second a lineup that looks like this:
Brown-Hughes-Bratt
Gritsyuk-Hischier-Meier
Mantha-Glass-Mercer
Boqvist-Bjugstad-Rodrigues
That still leaves Noesen, Hammenaho, and others outside the nightly lineup who can get into it at any point. It also gives the Devils flexibility to know that any of their top three lines can score. You can even switch Mantha and Brown to make that top line even more dangerous offensively.Â
It just seems like this lineup is at its best with Mercer on the third line. Forcing him next to one of the best center duos in the league isn’t what’s best for scoring goals and playing defense. We just don’t see Sheldon Keefe doing it.Â
And that’s why the most likely option for Mercer could be moving elsewhere. When the Devils couldn’t find a partner for Simon Nemec in a trade for another NHL player, Sunny Mehta accepted a ton of draft picks, including two first-round picks. Could they do something similar if they don’t get what they want for Mercer and decide he’s best served as trade fodder?
Anything is possible, but with the calendar turning to August, we feel the Devils are as close to done. The roster is what it is, which means they have forward depth for the first time in a long time. Injuries would suck, but they wouldn’t put the team in a chokehold. Mercer being flexible will only help this team.
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