Mercer Continues Scorching Streak As Devils Circle Sharks In Pursuit Of Meier
If the rumblings are true about Sharks General Manager Mike Grier insisting that the Devils include Dawson Mercer as a necessary part of the return package to obtain San Jose’s high-scoring wing Timo Meier in a trade, he can stop now.
For I guarantee that none of the other reputed bidders for the NHL’s 14th-leading goal scorer, be it Carolina, Vegas, Winnipeg, or some other clandestine team, are offering up anyone who comes close to what New Jersey’s sophomore has already accomplished. So why should the Devils?
Early reports indicated that the Sharks were looking for high picks and prospects. Hello, Mercer is a top-six forward, no longer a prospect. His two goals, including the overtime game-winner, and primary assist to help the Devils earn a 4-3 comeback victory over the visiting Kings on Thursday night brought his season totals to 18 goals and 20 assists.
Put another way, Mercer’s 0.66 points per game and 2.15 five-on-five points per 60 minutes this season would rank sixth and third, respectively, on the 2022-23 Sharks. He’s also durable, playing all 140 games over his two seasons to tie Scott Gomez for the most consecutive games to start a career in franchise history. Given their salary cap imprints, with Meier due a $10 million qualifying offer to retain his restricted free agent status this coming offseason and then looking for a high-end extension while Mercer has another season to go on his $894,000 AAV rookie contract before hitting restricted free agency, I’m not sold that the Devils would benefit all that much in the big picture by trading Mercer for Meier straight up.
Mercer, who has notched goals in five consecutive games (seven goals total), has taken his game to a new level since teaming up on the Devils’ top line with center Nico Hischier and wing Tomas Tatar starting with Saturday’s 5-2 win at Pittsburgh. Per NaturalStatTrick.com, the trio has enjoyed a 72.6% expected goals for percentage with a 64% high danger scoring chance percentage over these last four games.
Tatar has been extra dogged in his approach to winning puck battles in this stretch, often taking advantage of Mercer’s penchant for creating turnovers. That’s how the Devils fought back to tie Thursday’s game after falling behind, 2-0, in the first period. Tatar was the initial beneficiary, lifting a backhand over Kings goalie Pheonix Copley after both players worked to keep the play alive behind the Kings net, with Mercer ending up with the puck and walking it out to the net front before slipping it to Tatar late in the second period. Tatar returned the favor 2:23 into the third period when he pickpocketed Kings defenseman Tobias Bjornfot along the right wing wall and sent a nifty pass to Mercer in the slot. One quick swipe from Mercer and it was a 2-2 game.
Mercer is more likely to score from where he deposited Dougie Hamilton’s give-and-go feed 2:30 into the extra session—redirecting it in from a few feet outside the blue paint. Mercer has exceptional skills in tight spots. Only 21, he has room to build on his 6-foot, 180-pound frame to make him even tougher to contend with in the hard areas.
I must admit, I didn’t foresee Mercer developing this quickly and being this productive when he was selected with New Jersey’s No. 18 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. I had pined for defenseman Braden Schneider, who was poached by the Rangers with the next pick. Mea culpa.
Ironically, the Devils obtained that pick they used on Mercer by trading away their own star, Taylor Hall, to Arizona during that season, one of five in a row where the organization’s trade deadline priority was accumulating assets for their future in exchange for their veterans instead of bolstering their squad for a playoff appearance.
It’s about time but the Devils’ future is now. New Jersey (38-15-5), who opened up a six-point cushion on the Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division with Thursday’s triumph, could obviously use the skills Meier brings to the ice, particularly with his tenacity around the net on the power play, where his 13 goals this season place him tied for seventh-most in the league. However, I maintain that the total cost, even without Mercer, would be too prohibitive and would shackle the club’s flexibility to improve down the road.
Grier, as a first-time GM, is reportedly holding out for the best deal he can get for perhaps the most impactful player on the market. He has another week until the March 3 deadline to get something done.
It’s not like the Devils are bereft of the type of assets necessary to outbid competitors for Meier. They have all their future first-round picks and a prospect pool that was rated No. 2 in the league by The Athletic. Surely, both sides could find a compromise solution.
And if the Sharks are indeed steadfast in their desire to land Mercer in a Meier package, well, there are other fish in the sea for the Devils to reel in.