One offer sheet Canadiens could extend to enhance center-ice depth

Last week, we pondered offering Jeremy Swayman an offer sheet to land an elite-level starting goalie. However, recent reports of Swayman looking for a deal worth $10 million puts him above the Canadiens' price range. We'll now focus on a tweet from David Pagnotta, Editor-in-Chief of The Fourth Period. He offered tidbits on pending RFAs, including Dawson Mercer, who he says isn't close with the New Jersey Devils in contract talks.

Mercer has always been a point producer at every level, but his two-way ability could be interesting for the Habs. The Canadiens are building an abundance of skill on the wings with the recent additions of Ivan Demidov and Patrik Laine, plus the tenured Habs like Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Joshua Roy. They also have Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook, who currently make up two-thirds of the second line but either may look better on a third line. Another two-way piece like Nick Suzuki down the middle of the ice could be the answer they're looking for.

We recently predicted a future Habs lineup in 2026-27 using only the players in the organization and the top nine forwards looked like a Stanley Cup-contending team.

Juraj Slafkovsky - Nick Suzuki - Cole Caufield
Ivan Demidov - Kirby Dach - Patrik Laine
Alex Newhook - Owen Beck - Michael Hage

However, one weak link in that group is Owen Beck, who we aren't completely sure will be able to adapt to the professional game. If Beck can't do that, the Canadiens must find someone who will. It may not be worth it for them to wait around, meaning they could fill that need right now with a seven-year offer sheet to Mercer.

Juraj Slafkovsky - Nick Suzuki - Cole Caufield
Ivan Demidov - Kirby Dach - Patrik Laine
Alex Newhook - Dawson Mercer - Michael Hage

This lineup begins to look very deep and has some intriguing connections. There are question marks due to unproven rookies who haven't touched a North American professional ice surface and players with injury histories. The real strength of this lineup is the potential if they can all come close to hitting their ceiling.

The Newhook-Mercer pairing on the third line is also a perfect match. The pair were teammates at the 2021 World Junior Championship, which Canada lost in the finals. However, as some of you know, their connection goes further than that. They grew up in Newfoundland and Labrador, playing together on the U14 Team NL squad in 2015 and the U16 team in 2017. They also finished one-two in scoring in the U15AAA league back home during the 2014-15 season. Players don't often make it to the NHL from the rock, and two players on the consensus favorite team on the island would be something special.

There are no negatives to offering Mercer an offer sheet. As we covered in the Swayman piece, the Canadiens have plenty of draft picks to use for the compensation and would value this piece over anyone they could draft. They should take advantage of this lapse of judgment and lack of cap space for the Devils and land another integral piece to a future Stanley Cup roster.