Dawson Mercer Still Doesn’t Have a Contract With Devils, but Don’t Worry
By Marci Rubin
Dawson Mercer is the New Jersey Devils’ only restricted free agent left without a contract. His entry level contract expired at the end of the 2023-24 season. With preseason hockey just around the corner, Mercer’s lack of a contract is starting to raise concern.
The 22-year-old has appeared in 246 consecutive games with the Devils and has 131 career points in three years. His sophomore slump came a year late — Mercer was electric in his second season but stalled in his third season. He tallied just 33 points, his lowest season point total of his career so far.
Mercer is hoping for 2024-25 to be a better season, but first, he’ll need a new contract. Here’s why we shouldn’t worry that he hasn’t signed yet.
Dawson Mercer Remains an RFA as NHL Season Approaches
The Devils tendered a qualifying offer to Mercer, but no contract has been worked out. David Pagnotta recently revealed on NHL Network that Mercer and the Devils continue to talk but are not close to a deal. Mercer’s agent, Pat Brisson, recently told The Hockey News the same thing, that there have been many conversations, and the conversations will continue.
Of course, that’s not good news, but it also isn’t reason to panic. After all, both Mercer and Tom Fitzgerald have previously made it clear that Mercer remaining in New Jersey long-term is the plan. There’s been nothing to indicate that vision has changed.
Mercer doesn’t have any arbitration rights and will not be an unrestricted free agent until 2028, so the Devils hold most of the cards here. If a long-term contract isn’t agreed upon over the next month, they could work out a one-year deal and revisit this either during the 2024-25 season or again next summer.
If they don’t want to revisit this next year, a bridge deal of two or three years could be on the horizon. They could also trade Mercer, but if Fitzgerald intended to do that, he probably would’ve packaged Mercer for a goalie months ago. It isn’t likely he’s going anywhere at this point.
With how disappointing Mercer’s third season was, a short-term deal would give him time to prove he’s the 2022-23 version of himself and not the 2023-24 version. If he has a great year, he’ll be worth more. Mercer is still very young and should continue to develop.
One concern is that another NHL team could submit an offer sheet for Mercer since he remains unsigned. Then the question becomes: can the Devils match it? It’s possible but not a guarantee. According to PuckPedia, the Devils have about $4.97 million left in cap space.
There’s still some time before the 2024-25 season begins. As training camp gets closer, there will be more of a push to get a deal done. We’re slightly concerned, but we’re not panicking.
The Devils will figure it out with Mercer. It might not be a long-term solution, but there’s no reason to think Mercer won’t be skating with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and company next month. We just have to wait for it to be official.