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Jon Merrill

#4 · Defence · Minnesota Wild

Born Feb 3, 1992 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA · 6'3", 204 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 38th overall in 2010 by NJD (round 2)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2017-18. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Anthony Bitetto NSH · 3 P in 32 GP Marc Methot DAL · 3 P in 36 GP Rob O'Gara NYR · 3 P in 30 GP Noah Juulsen MTL · 3 P in 23 GP Kyle Quincey MIN · 3 P in 18 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

051015202013-14: 11 points1113-142014-15: 14 points1414-152015-16: 5 points515-162016-17: 6 points616-172017-18: 3 points317-182018-19: 15 points1518-192019-20: 7 points719-202020-21: 5 points520-212021-22: 20 points2021-222022-23: 12 points1222-232023-24: 11 points1123-242024-25: 6 points624-25

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2013-14 NJD 52 2 9 11 -3 12 45 27 0.21 $840K
2014-15 NJD 66 2 12 14 -14 24 47 59 0.21 $840K
2015-16 NJD 47 1 4 5 -15 28 30 48 0.11 $840K
2016-17 NJD 51 1 5 6 -9 24 48 39 0.12 $1.138M
2017-18 VGK 34 1 2 3 7 22 30 35 0.09 $1.138M
2018-19 VGK 57 3 12 15 16 53 72 71 0.26 $1.375M
2019-20 VGK 49 2 5 7 9 32 37 51 0.14 $1.375M
2020-21 DET 36 0 5 5 2 12 35 24 0.14 $925K
2020-21 MTL 13 0 0 0 -11 4 6 10 0.00
2021-22 MIN 69 4 16 20 15 22 59 46 0.29 $850K
2022-23 MIN 73 2 10 12 -2 38 43 47 0.16 $1.2M
2023-24 MIN 65 4 7 11 0 30 42 37 0.17 $1.2M
2024-25 MIN 70 2 4 6 -8 20 47 41 0.09 $1.2M
12 seasons Career 682 24 91 115 -13 321 541 535 0.17

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2017-18 VGK 8 0 0 0 2 10 2 9 0.00
2018-19 VGK 7 0 0 0 -1 0 5 9 0.00
2019-20 VGK 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 1.00
2020-21 MTL 13 0 0 0 -4 0 6 11 0.00
2021-22 MIN 6 0 1 1 -6 0 7 3 0.17
2022-23 MIN 2 0 0 0 1 2 3 1 0.00
2024-25 MIN 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00
7 seasons Playoffs 39 0 2 2 -7 12 24 36 0.05

2017-18 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
34 1 2 3 7 22 30 35 0.09 3.3 16:05

Contract

$1.138MCap hitends in 2018, then extended to 2020
$379KCap dollars per point3 points in 34 games
$1.1MCap dollars per goal above replacement1.0 goals above replacement
$1.3MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$134KValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 691 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the New Jersey Devils on Jul 1, 2016, as a new contract: 2 years and $2.275M, beginning in 2016-17. It runs through 2017-18, so this is its last season, and his extension takes over. His next contract is already signed: an extension with the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan 16, 2018, 2 years and $2.75M at $1.375M a season, beginning in 2018-19.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2016-17 $1.138M $1M $0 $1M
2017-18 $1.138M $1.275M $0 $1.275M

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jan 11, 2022 Minnesota Wild Extension 2022-23 to 2024-25 3 $3.6M $1.2M
Jul 29, 2021 Minnesota Wild New contract 2021-22 to 2021-22 1 $850K $850K
Oct 9, 2020 Detroit Red Wings New contract 2020-21 to 2020-21 1 $925K $925K
Jan 16, 2018 Vegas Golden Knights Extension not begun 2018-19 to 2019-20 2 $2.75M $1.375M
Jul 1, 2016 New Jersey Devils New contract 2016-17 to 2017-18 2 $2.275M $1.138M
Apr 30, 2013 New Jersey Devils Entry-level 2013-14 to 2015-16 3 $2.7M $840K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2017-18 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2017-18 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+1.0Goals above replacement449th of 691 skaters, 146th of 240 defencemen
+0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.8Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 240 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-2.0 22nd percentileEven-strength defence+2.8 91st percentilePower play-0.1 54th percentilePenalty kill+0.1 60th percentilePenalties-1.6 18th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-4-20242013-142015-162017-182019-202021-222023-24Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

50.3Corsi for %486 attempts for, 480 against
+1.0CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.8Expected goals for %19.2 expected for, 17.1 against
+5.6xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
49.6Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
58.8Goals for %20 for, 14 against
102.2PDO7.9% shooting + 94.4% saves
58Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 600 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Jon Merrill · Colin Miller29318:1254.959.713-7
Jon Merrill · Brad Hunt775:2143.648.73-2
Deryk Engelland · Jon Merrill1864:1849.346.23-3
Jon Merrill · Nate Schmidt1326:0438.634.10-1

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

1Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.0Expected goalsfrom 43 unblocked attempts
0.0Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.11 expected goals per 60 minutes11th
Shot quality 2.4% chance per attempt19th
Finishing 0.0 goals above expected48thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 242 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.51Game 20Expected 1.0Goals 1

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 7, 2018 @ CGY L 1-7 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 18:24
Apr 5, 2018 @ EDM L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 18:27
Mar 31, 2018 vs SJS W 3-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 12:45
Mar 28, 2018 vs ARI L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18:29
Mar 26, 2018 vs COL W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 13:11
Mar 24, 2018 @ COL L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 11:27
Mar 22, 2018 @ SJS L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 13:16
Mar 20, 2018 vs VAN W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18:58
Mar 18, 2018 vs CGY W 4-0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 16:38
Mar 16, 2018 vs MIN L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 2 0 1 13:23
Mar 14, 2018 vs NJD L 3-8 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 19:38
Mar 12, 2018 @ PHI W 3-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 15:21
Mar 8, 2018 @ DET W 4-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 15:13
Mar 6, 2018 @ CBJ L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 5 2 15:49
Mar 4, 2018 @ NJD W 3-2 0 1 1 1 2 1 2 13:57
Mar 2, 2018 vs OTT L 4-5 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 13:39
Feb 27, 2018 vs LAK L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 18:09
Feb 26, 2018 @ LAK L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 13:23
Feb 23, 2018 vs VAN W 6-3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 19:41
Feb 21, 2018 vs CGY W 7-3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 19:41
Jan 4, 2018 @ STL L 1-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 19:51
Jan 2, 2018 vs NSH W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 16:29
Dec 31, 2017 vs TOR W 6-3 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 13:30
Dec 28, 2017 @ LAK W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 13:09
Dec 27, 2017 @ ANA W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15:31
Dec 23, 2017 vs WSH W 3-0 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 18:41
Dec 19, 2017 vs TBL W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 14:40
Dec 17, 2017 vs FLA W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 13:40
Dec 14, 2017 vs PIT W 2-1 1 0 1 2 4 2 1 15:02
Dec 1, 2017 @ WPG L 4-7 0 1 1 -1 0 0 1 14:45
Nov 14, 2017 @ EDM L 2-8 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 17:51
Oct 31, 2017 @ NYR L 4-6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17:32
Oct 17, 2017 vs BUF W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 19:40
Oct 15, 2017 vs BOS W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 17:05