The New Jersey Devils are highly active in the trade rumors as the first round of the NHL Draft continues on. They have reportedly been working behind the scenes to move some of their high-salary players to make extended moves in trades and free agency. They are actively looking to upgrade the roster, and that might mean losing current roster players in search for an upgrade.
Many expect Ondrej Palat to be out the door, but he isn’t the most surprising name that could be on the way out. Dawson Mercer has been in trade rumors, and the return isn’t exactly a superstar.
Mercer isn’t a stranger to trade rumors, but it was always other teams asking for him and the Devils saying no. He was apparently requested in trades involving Connor Hellebuyck, Juuse Saros, and Ryan O’Reilly, although those rumors were never confirmed. The fact that none of those players were traded at all shows that Mercer was considered a high-value player.
Mercer is coming off his worst season as a pro. He had 19 goals and 17 assists while playing all 82 games for the fourth straight season. He is a fine player at his worst, but we’ve seen him at his best. When he was barely old enough to drink legally in the U.S., he put up 27 goals and 29 assists. He was a huge reason the 22-23 Devils were so good. He added that secondary scoring.
Then, something unclicked, and he has seen his production drop two years in a row. There is so much wrong with Mercer’s game, and it didn’t help he let his contract negotiations go into training camp last season.
The New Jersey Devils will lose every Dawson Mercer trade
That’s part of the reason why we’re not giving up on Mercer. We’ve seen before that negotiations that go into training camp impact players for the entire season.
Which is why trading him now makes no sense. Mercer is on a $4 million per year contract, which is more than he’s worth at 19 goals but it’s a steal at 27 goals. Why would the Devils trade him when his contract seems like its bad?
The Devils will lose every Dawson Mercer trade at this point. We saw what JJ Peterka got the Buffalo Sabres, and he has a lot more value than Mercer. What are the Devils going to do with less than defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan?
It’s not that important to get the extra $4 million in salary cap space if it comes with a loss of a forward. The Devils need to add to the forward group, not subtract from it.
We understand the frustration with Mercer, but trading from a position of frustration is how you lose trades. The Devils should not be in the business of losing trades, and any Mercer trade at this point will be a loss.