Mercer finished the 2023-24 season with 20 goals and 33 points in 82 games.
Mercer's sophomore slump came a year late, as he finished with the lowest point total of his three-year career. The 2020 first-round draft pick also had a career-worst minus-26 rating, and he posted his lowest shot total (134) despite seeing a career high in average ice time (17:13). On the bright side, Mercer still hasn't missed a game in his NHL career, and he'll be a bounce-back candidate next season after posting point totals of 42 and 56 in his first two campaigns. Mercer will be a restricted free agent this offseason after the expiration of his entry-level contract.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Lights lamp twice in win
Rotowire
Mercer scored two goals in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Penguins.
The 22-year-old opened the scoring early in the first period before adding another tally in the third as New Jersey blew the game open. Mercer had just two goals over the prior 16 games, his only points during that stretch, and on the season he's up to 19 goals and 30 points through 69 contests.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Tallies in blowout win
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Mercer scored a goal on two shots in Tuesday's 7-2 win over the Sharks.
Mercer had one of the Devils' four goals in the third period, snapping a six-game point drought in the process. The 22-year-old is up to 16 goals, 27 points, 101 shots on net and a minus-18 rating through 59 appearances. Mercer has struggled since the Devils got healthy at forward, and his current third-line role with limited power-play time doesn't bode well for him turning things around.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Deals assist in win
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Mercer logged an assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Predators.
Mercer picked up a point in consecutive games for the first time since late December. The 22-year-old helped out on Timo Meier's go-ahead tally in the third period. Mercer's offense has dropped since the Devils got their ideal top-six corps healthy at the same time, which has led to him playing on the third line. He's at 26 points, 90 shots on net and a minus-14 rating this season, and it seems unlikely he'll have enough time to match last year's 56-point effort.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Tallies goal in win
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Mercer scored his 15th goal of the season in the Devils' 3-1 win over the Kraken on Monday.
Mercer has been mired in a mini-slump. This was just his second goal and fourth point over the last 12 games. His ice time has fluctuated wildly in recent weeks as well. While he's frequently seen more than 20 minutes per game, he has played just 15:27, 13:27, and 14:45 in his last three tilts, which is likely a result of Jack Hughes' return to the lineup.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Scores in Tuesday's win
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Mercer scored a goal in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Avalanche.
Mercer's goal put the Devils ahead 3-1 in the second period. The 22-year-old was limited to two assists and a minus-7 rating over his last eight games in January, but he's off to a solid start coming out of the All-Star break. The 22-year-old forward has 14 goals, 24 points, 85 shots on net, 32 blocked shots and a minus-14 rating through 48 contests as a solid secondary scorer in a middle-six role.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Pots two tallies in win
Rotowire
Mercer scored two goals in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Capitals.
It's the third multi-point performance in the last six games for Mercer, who has caught fire on the Devils' second line alongside Nico Hischier. Mercer has five goals and eight points during his surge, but on the season the 22-year-old has just 20 points (12 goals, eight helpers) in 36 contests as he's tried to find his place in New Jersey's talented forward ranks.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: First three-point game of season
Rotowire
Mercer had a goal and two assists in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Blue Jackets.
Mercer tied the score at 2-2 in the third period with his ninth goal of the season, and he also assisted on game-tying goals from Ondrej Palat and Luke Hughes, the latter of which came with just 1:25 remaining in regulation. This was the first three-point effort of 2023-24 for Mercer, who posted at least three points on four different occasions last season. He continues to lag well behind last year's 56-point pace, with just 17 points through 33 games.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Goal, assist in loss
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Mercer scored a goal and added an assist in Thursday's 6-3 loss to Edmonton.
Mercer got New Jersey on the board in the first period, firing a shot under the pad of Calvin Pickard to cut the deficit to 2-1 before adding an assist on Timo Meier's tally in the second. It's the first multi-point game since Nov. 28 for Mercer -- he came into the day with just two points (a goal and an assist) in his prior eight contests. Overall, the 22-year-old center now has eight goals and 14 points through 31 games this season.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Keeps rolling with power-play goal
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Mercer scored a power-play goal on three shots and went minus-2 in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Sharks.
With the Devils' top six healthy again, Mercer is back to shining on the wing. He's posted six points over his last four games, a stark contrast to his season-opening 10-game point drought. The 22-year-old is better as part of the supporting cast for the Devils, and he can also fill a similar role for fantasy squads. Mercer has six goals, four helpers, 38 shots on net, 16 blocked shots and a minus-7 rating through 22 appearances this season.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Another two-point effort
Rotowire
Mercer produced a goal and an assist in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Islanders.
It's the second straight two-point performance for the 22-year-old, who is thriving while skating alongside a healthy Jack Hughes. Mercer began the season with a 10-game point drought, but since then he's turned things around, racking up five goals and eight points over his last 10 contests. A lack of consistent power-play time limits his fantasy upside, but he's still capable of contributing given his top-line role at even strength.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Buries power-play goal
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Mercer scored a power-play goal on four shots in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Jets.
Mercer got the Devils within two goals late in the third period, but they couldn't build a rally. The 22-year-old has benefited from the absences of Nico Hischier (upper body) and Jack Hughes (shoulder) -- Mercer's been in a top-six role and has scored all three of his goals over the last four games. That's all of his offense through 14 contests to go with 27 shots on net, 11 blocked shots and a minus-7 rating.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Pots first goal of season
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Mercer scored a power-play goal in Sunday's 4-2 win over Chicago.
With Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier both sidelined due to upper-body injuries, Mercer slid into a top-six role at even strength and a prominent spot on the power play, and the 22-year-old capitalized by jamming a shot past Arvid Soderblom midway through the first period. It was Mercer's first point of the season in 11 games, but with both Hughes and Hischier lacking timelines for their respective returns, he should get enough opportunities in the short term to provide some fantasy value.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Still no points this season
Rotowire
Mercer had two shots, one blocked shot and a minus-1 rating in Thursday's 5-3 win over Minnesota as his season-opening point drought reached nine games.
Mercer's sophomore slump has arrived a year late. He had 27 goals and 29 assists in a promising second season in 2022-23, building off a 42-point rookie campaign, but the 2020 first-round pick has yet to get on the scoresheet in 2023-24. Mercer's seeing time on the second power-play unit and had 1:20 PP TOI on Thursday, but patience has to be wearing thin for anyone who drafted Mercer hoping that he'd take another step forward in his development this season.
Devils' Dawson Mercer: Scores in season-ending loss
Rotowire
Mercer potted the first goal of the game as New Jersey took a 3-2 overtime loss to Carolina on Thursday.
Mercer scored his third goal through 12 playoff games. He hasn't tallied often, but with seven postseason points, he made an impact for the Devils during the postseason. However, Mercer's successful sophomore campaign has come to an end.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Collects three assists Sunday
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Mercer earned three assists in Sunday's 8-4 win over Carolina in Game 3.
Mercer assisted on two goals by Jack Hughes and one by Timo Meier in New Jersey's blowout victory. He didn't have a point in three outings going into Sunday's contest. Mercer is up to two goals and four helpers in 10 games this postseason.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Provides marker Saturday
Rotowire
Mercer scored a goal in a 5-2 loss to the Rangers in Game 6 on Saturday.
Mercer found the back of the net for the second straight contest, bringing him up to two markers and three points in six playoff outings this year. His latest tally came on the power play, but it wasn't impactful because it occurred late in the third period and merely reduced the Rangers' lead to 5-2. Still, Mercer heating up is great news for the Devils as they head into Game 7 on Monday. New Jersey will be looking for the 21-year-old to continue to play in a middle-six role after he contributed 27 goals and 56 points in 82 regular-season appearances.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Two points, shorthanded goal in win
Rotowire
Mercer tallied a goal and an assist in Thursday's 4-0 win over the Rangers.
Mercer recorded his first postseason point with an assist on Erik Haula's power-play goal early in the second period. The 21-year-old Mercer would add his first goal later in the frame, a shorthanded tally to extend the Devils' lead to 3-0. Mercer had been quiet in the series prior to Thursday's two-point effort. He posted 27 goals and 56 points in 82 regular season games.
