Jesper Bratt has continuously stated that he wants to be a New Jersey Devil long term. At locker room cleanup day, Bratt was asked about his thoughts on his future in New Jersey. "We’ll get it done, I’ll see you guys for the next couple of years to come." General Manager Tom Fitzgerald has also expressed his desire to wanting a deal done. "Jesper wants to be a Devil long-term – and so do we." So the question is, why has a deal still yet to be signed?
According to a report by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the Devils have made an offer to Bratt and his agent for the max eight years. That's what Bratt and Co. wanted, right? Well, there's an assumption that things have changed. Per LeBrun, he wonders if Bratt and his camp may look to take a shorter term deal so that Jesper can get a much more lucrative market down the road when the cap goes up a lot more. It's definitely an option. However, the longer this goes, the tougher it will get for Fitzgerald to focus solely on a Bratt deal. Reminder, he also still has to get a deal done for the other big RFA in Timo Meier.
Fitzgerald has 12 other free agents to think about as well. The time really is now to get something done or move on from Bratt, especially with free agency looming just 17 days away. Another sticking point is evaluating the value of Jesper Bratt in AAV. Let's take a look at what #63 has done at this point, why the Devils should or shouldn't pay him and what type of deal makes sense for both sides.
Bratt's Career to This Point
Since making his NHL debut in 2017, Jesper Bratt has over time become a very underrated player. In 389 career games played, Bratt has tallied 102 goals, 174 assists for 276 career points. That's good enough for the seventh most of any player taken in the '16 draft. He has achieved 30 plus points in each of his six seasons. He is coming off a career year in which he set new personal record for goals (32) as well as his second most assists (41) and tied his high in points (73). By all accounts, Bratt has gotten better each season. Now, lets go through the reasons to or not to pay Bratt.
Why the Devils SHOULD Pay Jesper Bratt
Other than the fact that Bratt stepped up a bunch in many ways this past year, he is a big part of the Devils' long term plans. When Tom Fitzgerald took over as GM, he wanted to establish a core. Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Dougie Hamilton and Jesper Bratt are the core of this team. Bratt as grown with the rest of the players I just mentioned and just like those players, really blossomed this season. He contributed a ton to Devils' historic 112 point season and second round finish in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bratt's style of play also fits the system that Lindy Ruff has very well. He's fast, athletic, and his puck handling is superb. He's also a great team guy according to many in the Devils' locker room which is something that Fitzgerald values a lot when it comes to the culture he is building. Jesper Bratt deserves an uptick in his AAV and everything I just pointed out shows his tremendous value to New Jersey.
Why the Devils Should NOT Pay Jesper Bratt
This is where things can get controversial. Despite Bratt continuing to improve each year, he does have one glaring issue. He tends to be inconsistent and will go several games at a time not doing much of anything. Bratt got off to a really great start to the year as he registered an eleven game point streak to start the season. Then, when we got to December, he put up a measly eight points. There were other points during the year where he basically was a ghost and wasn't a factor at all.
The biggest example of this was during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In twelve playoff games, Bratt totaled one single goal, which was an empty netter in Game 7 vs the Rangers, and six points overall. Whether it was puck luck or not, Bratt did not deliver when the team needed him to. Yes, other guys as well struggled, but not as much. Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and even Timo Meier got going eventually when it came to scoring goals. That lack of production should give the Devils pause on giving Jesper a big money deal.
The other problem is figuring out the AAV for a long term deal with Bratt, First, there's a lot of back and forth on the part of Bratt and his camp on whether they want a long or short term deal as mentioned before. Second, there's deciding how much of an increase Bratt deserves from his $5.45 million he received on his one year deal last year. Fitzgerald reportedly doesn't want to have Bratt make more than Jack Hughes, the team's star player, but also doesn't want to low ball him either. Again, the Devils still have to also get a deal done with Timo Meier as well and that could be an even higher AAV then what Bratt could get. All of this makes it understandable if the Devils don't want to pay Jesper Bratt.
There's been a lot of delay on a deal dating all the way back to last year and despite both sides speaking confidently on a future together, a deal still doesn't seem to be close to happening right now.
Final Verdict and My Personal Contract Offer
I still want to have Jesper Bratt in New Jersey long term and I think a deal will eventually happen. Despite the inconsistencies, Bratt has developed more and more each year and I think he'll continue to do so. This season wasn't a flash in the plan, this is just a taste of what Bratt can do long term. He deserves a pay raise and the Devils are the best place for Bratt and the Devils themselves.
Since there is a report on the Devils giving him a max eight year deal as well as speculation that Bratt and his agent could want a shorter deal, I will give two different offers fitting both options.
Long Term: 8 Years, $7.5 Million AAV, $60 Million Overall
Short Term: 4 Years, $6.5 Million AAV, $26 Million Overall
With both deals, there is an uptick in AAV as well as still giving him years to grow more and help the Devils remain with a healthy cap for years to come. It's fair to both Bratt and the Devils and they should look for options like these.
Let me know what you guys think in the comments.
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