The Devils put out a press release this morning saying that Nick Merkley has re-signed with the club. His contract is a two-way deal, worth $874,125 at the NHL-level and $70,000 at the AHL-level.
According to the press release and Devils Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald, Merkley will rejoin the team “prior to the start of 2020-21 training camp.” He is currently playing for Assat in Liiga. He currently has two goals and two assists (four points) over seven games in the Finnish league.
Merkley stands 5-feet, 10-inches and is 195-pounds. He was acquired by the Devils in the trade that sent Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes. The right-shooting forward “made his Devils debut on February 14, 2020 against Carolina where he recorded his first career NHL point with an assist.” He scored one goal in four more games with the Devils last season.
In the American Hockey League, with the Tucson Roadrunners (Arizona’s affiliate) and Binghamton, he netted a total of 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points over 26 games with Tucson and 28 with the B-Devils. In the AHL all-time, he has 39 goals, 69 assists totaling 108 points over 137 games. He was a 2017-18 AHL All-Star according to the press release.
The 23-year-old Calgary-native was selected 30th overall in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Coyotes. Prior to that, he was a teammate of Devils prospect Nolan Foote and Damon Severson with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League. From 2012 to 2017, he had 85 goals, 174 assists, totaling 259 points, leading the Rockets in scoring in 2014-15 according to the presser. He had 20 goals and 70 assists for 90 points that season over 72 games.