The rebuild of the New Jersey Devils has largely consisted of draft lottery wins, including Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, and the second-overall selection in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, a few under-the-radar trades for players like Ryan Graves and Jonas Siegenthaler, a blockbuster free-agent signing of Dougie Hamilton, and the surprising development of a 2016 sixth-round pick: Jesper Bratt. Over his NHL career, Bratt has proven he belongs in the NHL, initially providing solid secondary scoring for New Jersey before a superb breakout season in 2021-22, where he lead the team in scoring with 73 points in 76 games. Soon to be 24 and now an NHL veteran, Bratt finds himself a restricted free agent this offseason at the conclusion of a two-year, $5.5MM contract he signed with the Devils prior to the 2020-21 season.
Despite the success and becoming a major building-block for the Devils, in his updated trade targets list yesterday, The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli added Bratt’s name into the mix, citing the lack of discussion between player and team on Bratt’s next contract. Earlier this afternoon, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes added to the story, saying he had also heard that there had been no significant extension talks between the two sides (link). Weekes also said he could confirm that several teams were indeed interested in trading for the Swedish winger. Of course many teams would likely be interested in making a deal for Bratt, considering his age, his control as a RFA, and his ability to create offense and support his line. This interest also makes it hard to understand why New Jersey might be interested in moving the winger themselves upon seeing this development and his chemistry with their other young building blocks, not to mention plenty of salary cap space at just over $25.3MM projected this offseason.
Perhaps putting the rumors to bed, however, is The Star-Ledger’s Ryan Novozinsky. You may recall last weekend, Novozinsky addressed Bratt’s contract, speaking directly to his agent, Joakim Persson, who confirmed the sides have had discussions on a contract, which included meeting in person several weeks ago, as well as a few phone calls since. In light of Weekes’ tweet today, Novozinsky reiterated what Persson told him, that both sides have had discussions on a contract, though no deal is imminent. In addition to Bratt’s camp, the Devils confirmed to Novozinsky that contract talks were ongoing and the process takes time (link).
The comments from Persson and the confirmation from the Devils would seem to prove there has been dialogue, one that would likely continue, but today’s comments from Weekes do certainly raise eyebrows. Not having a deal finalized right now is far from a concern, and could be due to a number of factors, some wholly unrelated to Bratt, but the Devils do have until July 13th to be in full control of the negotiations before their star player can talk to other teams, which could lead to an offer-sheet scenario. Though that scenario has not been speculated or reported on, it could serve as a soft deadline to work out a contract.
7×7 please
Is this going to turn out like a New Jersey version of what Nick Paul went through in Ottawa? “We *really* want you here, but not at your price.” We’ve seen this junk in Ottawa for years, where some of us say, “if you’re not going to pay him, then who are you going to pay?” I hope NJD doesn’t decide to go this route too. If they don’t want to spend to the cap due to COVID-caused losses, they should say so and be up front about it.
Mac trust me Fitzy wouldnt go that route, Bratt isnt going anywhere, Weeksy is just talking out of his ass
@SpeakOfTheDevil – That’s good to know. Bratt seems to be the real deal there, so it’d be good to get him locked up and happy.
He really started to come into his own last year, plus he has chemistry with pretty much anybody they’ve put him with, you dont really try to get rid of players like that.
@SpeakOfTheDevil – “…plus he has chemistry with pretty much anybody they’ve put him with…” – That says it all right there. I agree, that’s the definition of a “keeper.”
I’d love to see that guy on the team I root for!
Incredibly random question I thought of for Devil’s fans, yesterday…
Which team do you think was the best? 1995, 2000 or 2003?
2000 team, they went back to the finals in 2001 and lost in 7 games.
Probably 95 or 2000, cant really pick one because both teams dominated but in very different ways
2 OA + Bratt +Bahl for Pasta!
Dafuq outta here