NJ Devils Are "Working Towards an Agreement" With RFA Dawson Mercer

It's been quite the offseason for the New Jersey Devils: New head coach, new No. 1 goalie, two new strong fits on the blueline, plus some other assorted goodies. One major piece of business still to work out is the re-signing of key restricted free agent Dawson Mercer.

And according to GM Tom Fitzgerald in an interview with James Murphy of rg.org, that is well on the way to being taken care of:

We are working towards an agreement after exchanging proposals.

Were there some nervous nights in New Jersey after the St. Louis Blues stunned the league last week by signing two Edmonton Oilers RFAs, Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, to offer sheets?

Probably not, suggests Murphy, as the two sides seem committed to each other and to getting something done.

The Devils have just a shade under $5 million in available cap room at the moment, so the suggestion making the rounds is that Fitzgerald and Mercer may go for a short-term bridge deal for a couple of years, allowing time for the salary cap to open up further, and a more expensive long-term deal could follow at that point.

Mercer has played all 82 games in each of his three seasons in the NHL, and topped the 20-goal mark in each of the last two years, though his point total dropped this past year by over 20, to just 33 points (20 goals, 13 assists), after a 27-goal, 56-point season in 2022-23. In addition, Mercer's two-way play took a bit of a hit, as his plus/minus plummeted by 48, from a +22 to a minus-26.

A new deal with Mercer will cap an offseason in New Jersey that included trading for goaltender Jacob Markstrom, signing defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon along with forwards Stefan Noesen and Tomas Tatar, and adding a new head coach in Sheldon Keefe.