The New Jersey Devils were given a gift when sixth-round pick Jesper Bratt started the season like a superstar. After a down second half, should the Devils recoup assets for the young winger?
Sports are funny. Not in a “haha” kind of way, but more like an ironic “how does that even happen” sort of way. Teams spend months analyzing players prior to the draft, just for the team in front of them to take that player. They pour money and time into some players that end up getting a major injury and never hitting the ice. There are players who fans run to buy their jersey, then they immediately sign with another team. The New Jersey Devils have been on the wrong end of some of these “funny” scenarios, but it’s happening a lot less than it used to.
That’s because of the management team in place. They will make shrewd moves if necessary, like flipping fan favorite Adam Henrique just days after his charity was the talk of the Devils fanbase. It was a shock to many, but at the end of the day most fans are happy with Sami Vatanen.
That brings us to the 2018 offseason. The Devils fanbase waited and waited for a big moves. Dreams of John Tavares, John Carlson, Erik Karlsson and James van Riemsdyk ended with Eric Gryba, Kurtis Gabriel and Eric Tangradi. Clearly, it was an underwhelming offseason.
So as we look at the roster, things actually don’t seem so bad. If the Devils can get healthy seasons out of Marcus Johansson and Kyle Palmieri, then there’s only one or two spots for young players to step in.
This was a long explanation before we got to the point. The point is the Devils should at least look into the possibility to sell high on winger Jesper Bratt.
How did we get here you ask? Let me explain.
Bratt came into camp last year after signing a three-year deal at the end of the previous season. He was a player many expected to get a taste with NHL talent before going down to Juniors. Then, he was spectacular in the preseason. Starting with training camp, and going on until games started. Bratt was out of his mind.
That hot start got him a spot on the opening night roster. He didn’t stop playing until late in the season. In a year with an insane amount of rookies making a name for themselves, Bratt was still getting leeway. Even with Will Butcher and Nico Hischier on his team, he was finding a way to get his name out there.
Then, the wheels fell off.
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Bratt was absolutely awful from February 1st on. He scored four points after the first of February to the end of the season, including the playoffs. Something was wrong with Bratt, and he couldn’t play his way out of it.
Still, despite that slump, Bratt is still a player who weeks ago turned 20 years old. He showed skill that wasn’t seen when he fell to the 162nd pick in 2016. He’s continuing to hone his game, and hopefully Bratt just hit a rookie wall.
However, it’s possible he didn’t. It’s possible that Bratt just caught lightning in a bottle, and now he goes back to the player who was picked behind 161 other prospects, most of which are yet to even sniff the NHL. With that possibility in mind, should Ray Shero shop Bratt to test his value?
Here’s the thing, the Devils should not trade Bratt for a mid-round draft pick just to call it a win. You can’t call this a sixth-round pick anymore after the rookie season he had. His value is different. Shero should only shop Bratt for other players. Maybe he should use Bratt to dangle in front of a team with a disgruntled superstar.
The question in the headline asks if the Devils should “sell high” on Bratt. As with everything, that all depends on what the return is. If the Devils can talk the Canadiens into trading Max Pacioretty straight up for Bratt, because that’s apparently what Montreal does, then you have to make that move. Trading a known commodity for a young chance is usually the right move. However, it’s highly unlikely a team will make that move. Therefore, the Devils should go forth with Bratt as a second line right wing, and hope what happened last year was just the victim of endurance.