Dawson Mercer
Age: 24 Position: Forward
Statistics: 20 goals, 22 assists, 42 points (82 games)
Contract: Three years, $12 million (one year remaining)
Grade: C+
2025-26 Review
Dawson Mercer has been chasing the success of his sophomore season the last few years. As far as the scoresheet goes, he got the closest to that 56-point season in 2025-26, as he broke the 20-goal mark for the third time in his career and put up 42 points. This figured is tied for the second-most in his career.
Additionally, Mercer kept the streak alive of consecutive games played. He posted his fifth-straight 82-game season. In doing so, he surpassed Travis Zajac‘s franchise consecutive games played record of 401 in April.
The former first-round pick posted another strong season defensively. His on-ice defensive metrics, according to Evolving Hockey’s goals above replacement metrics (GAR), were extremely strong. The figure, which factors in even strength defense, shorthanded play, and penalties, ranked Mercer in the league’s 86th percentile. That percentile ranking is the highest of his career.
Offensively, the metrics were not as impressive. His offensive expected GAR (xGAR) ranked 24th among 29 Devils skaters to play at least 50 minutes of ice time this season. When looking at how he stacks up league wide, he ranked 554 out of 615 forwards to play in a game this season.
His overall offensive on-ice impacts ranked in the league’s 19th percentile. Taking that, and seeing that Mercer’s possession metrics were serviceable shows that he was more of a passenger than a driver when it came to offensive generation when he was on the ice.
Regardless of the lackluster on-ice offensive impacts, Mercer was available once again playing all 82 games, scored 20 goals, and put forth a strong defensive season. For those reasons, he earned an average of “C-plus” grade.
2026-27 Outlook
Mercer has quietly put together several strong defensive seasons in a row. Over the last three seasons, Mercer’s on-ice defensive impacts rank in the leagues 78th percentile, with his best overall defensive play coming this past season. On the flip side of that, his offensive game has been trending down ever since his breakout sophomore campaign.
With that being said, he is still a valuable presence to the team’s middle-six. Mercer would likely be best suited for a third-line role. Importantly, Mercer is due to be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2026-27 season. His performance next season will be massive.
Note, all statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.