The 2015-16 season has not been kind to third-year pro Jon Merrill.
After a respectable rookie campaign in 2013-14 Merrill struggled in 2014-15, leading me to suggest the Devils should explore the market in hopes of trading him before his value plummets.
They elected not to deal him, obviously, and so far that decision has not paid dividends.
Merrill has been in and out of the lineup - in part due to New Jersey's blue line depth - and has struggled to make any sort of positive impact when he has dressed.
Offensively Merrill hasn't contributed much of anything having recorded just one assist and 10 shots in 26 games.
That'd be fine if he was playing strong defense but that has not been the case.
With Merrill on the ice at full-strength (5 v 5) the Devils get a 44.3% share of high danger scoring chances. With Merrill on the bench the Devils get a 50.2% share of high danger scoring chances. That's a substantial difference; especially considering he's often given softer minutes against lesser competition.
Another worrisome trend is that almost every player on the roster seems to be faring better without Merrill than with him.
Of nine players he has shared the ice with for 80+ minutes at full-strength all nine have generated a lesser share of the shot attempts with Merrill on the ice.
At just 23 years old it's too early to write him off completely. In saying that he has struggled for the better part of his young NHL career and the underlying numbers don't offer anything to suggest that will change anytime soon.
**
I tracked John Quenneville's game against Team Sweden in Canada's 7-6 win on Wednesday afternoon.
The results are below.
John Quenneville's even-strength numbers against Sweden. Pretty good game from him. pic.twitter.com/F69IFftNp5
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) December 24, 2015**
I won't have a new post up on Christmas. Consider me questionable for Boxing Day.
Happy holidays, everyone.