Report: RFA Dawson Mercer Talks With Devils "Moving Slow"

It's not been easy trekking through the negotiation process for the New Jersey Devils and youngster Dawson Mercer this summer. The team spent some big money in the past couple of months, bringing in the likes of starting goalie Jacob Markstrom and UFA defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon.

Meanwhile, Mercer, an RFA, is coming off his entry-level contract with a season that wasn't quite what he or the team would have hoped.

Hockey insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period says the two sides are still "not close" on an extension for the 22-year-old.

It's moving slow at the moment. They are grinding away at it, but there seems to be a lot of work that needs to be done before they get to the finish line.

One of the biggest problems is that the Devils have just $4.976 million left under the cap, and while that would be more than sufficient for a short-term deal, it wouldn't get it done for a longer-term contract.

Given that, fellow insider Elliotte Friedman says we should be looking at a bridge deal for Mercer.

I look at their cap situation. I just don’t see how a long-term deal works. So I expect this is gonna be a bridge barring they do anything else.

Mercer had a 23-point dropoff in scoring in his just-concluded third season with New Jersey, still making the 20-goal club, but finishing with just 33 points, down from 56 in his sophomore campaign. He also dropped from a plus/minus rating of +22 to a -26.

But there's no doubt the Devils are looking to him as a key part of their future, it's just that a shorter-term deal makes a lot of sense at this point, from a lot of different perspectives.

James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now suggests that a three-year deal with a $4 million cap hit is about where the two sides could land.

September 18 is the first day of Devils training camp. It is expected that Mercer will be on the ice with the team.