All Signs Point to a Bridge Deal for Dawson Mercer in New Jersey

The dog days of summer are here in the National Hockey League. However, there are still restricted free agents that need to be signed. Before the 2024 NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils qualified their five restricted free agents, including Dawson Mercer.

That number was starting to dwindle, but the Devils were able to restructure some contracts after Adam Beckman, Santeri Hatakka, and Cam Squires signed their respective deals. The Devils must still sign Nico Daws, Nolan Foote and Mercer to new deals.

Currently, the Devils have $4,976,103 in salary cap space, according to PuckPedia.com. We have seen players like Jack Drury, Shane Pinto, and Kirill Marchenko sign new contracts with their respective clubs. Marchenko signed a three-year deal with an AAV of $3.85 million.

As FullPressHockey.com has documented, the last piece of business is to get Dawson Mercer signed to a new deal. Considering the way Devils President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald operates, you have to wonder if he wants to go above the numbers set by Pinto and Marchenko.

A recent Full Press NHL Podcast episode discussed Dawson Mercer and his next contract.

As Chris Wassel of Full Press Hockey and NHLRumors.com pointed out in the latest episode of the podcast, the contract projections are high, especially for a longer-term deal. Wassel went through AFP Analytics and PuckPedia.com.

Wassel: “Some of the projections out there are interesting. So you know, I went through a few of them. I went through the analytics. I went through AFP Analytics, obviously. PuckPedia.com kind of has its own, too. This is where it gets like if you go more than five years, you’re going into Looney Tunes money.”

Biringer: “Exactly, and they can’t do it. They can’t. But they don’t even have it this year. That’s why they can’t even go five years.”

Wassel: “Right. Here’s the hierarchy for people who are curious about why they can’t do this at all. Okay, a five-year deal will cost just south of $6 million.”

Biringer: “They don’t have $ 6 million.”

Wassel:” Six years, even worse. Remember, they just signed; they just snuck in Tomas Tatar.”

Biringer: “They just signed the defenseman Hatakka, and his cap hit in the National Hockey League is about $775,000.”

Wassel: “And that’s enough to knock that out now. Like you said, the six-year projection is $6.5 million, so that’s out. Four-year projections are interesting, too, because that’s coming in at kind of a budget breaker to a point. They come in around $4.5-$4.6 million. You’d almost have to go three years at that amount, and then you still have to move something.”

Biringer: “Yeah, can’t do it. That’s why I say, if you do a two-to-three-year bridge deal at $1.5 million to $2 million, you’re okay.”

Wassel: “Yeah. I just don’t think that’s gonna get it done right now.”

NHL Free Agency: NHL Free Agency: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

New Jersey Devils: Next Up for Tom Fitzgerald Sign Dawson Mercer to an Extension

So, what other options are on the table for Dawson Mercer and the New Jersey Devils? The Devils could do the normal two-three-year bridge deal, or they could settle on a one-year deal. There is a close comparable out there: Kaapo Kakko of the New York Rangers. Kakko signed his qualifying offer of $2.4 million with the Rangers.

Biringer: “No, I don’t think it’s going to get it done, either, and maybe they don’t even do a two-three-year bridge deal. Maybe they only do one year, and they try to kick this thing down the road again and then get him to the arbitrator.

But I mean again, I think if you’re in the Mercer camp, you’re saying to yourself, you’re saying to the New Jersey Devils, hey, there is a guy across the river at $2.4 million. Look at my stats compared to his stats. What has he done? And that was his qualifying offer, and my qualifying offer was under $1 million.”

Wassel: “Right, and he was one for those that don’t know. Oddly enough, he was one of those players that kind of got the dip in the bonus money in his entry-level contract. Was it a huge bonus? No, but it was enough for his average annual salary to like $1.35 million.”

Biringer: “Yeah, so. He got a decent bump, but I still think it’s on the Devils. It’s a two-to-three-year bridge deal. I think it’s about $2-$2.5 million.”

Wassel: “Right, and that’s also going to be if he agrees to $2.5 million, which is a steal. That eliminates, more than likely, any potential overage penalty. Those have to be considered here, too.”

Biringer: “Exactly. You don’t want to exceed the salary cap. Again, this is a good problem—the Devils have right now.”

It will be interesting to see how things play out between Dawson Mercer and the New Jersey Devils. Both parties will want to reach a deal before the start of training camp, making this a situation worth watching.