New Jersey Devils: 5 Players Who Need To Finish Season

Jesper Bratt

This one’s probably the most obvious name on this list. Jesper Bratt was having the best stretch of his entire career, maybe outside of the first month in the NHL. February 2020 was only the third time in his career he’s had 10 points in a month, and the manner which he got those 10 points was extremely impressive.

Bratt had six goals, and none of them were gimmes. The first one, against the Montreal Canadiens slipped off his stick and went in, but it was preceded by a great no-look pass to Will Butcher. Against Detroit, he put a riser through a screen to make the game out of reach in the third period. The goal against the Sharks started a three-game goal streak in which he broke out thanks to some insane silky moves. The very next game against the Capitals, he was just unfair to opposing goalie Ilya Samsonov. Just look at this, to get a goalie who’s been as good as Samsonov to flail like that will put jaws on the floor.

You get the point. Bratt was on an all-time heater, and he had to watch the season freeze. If the Devils come back, Bratt could add more points before getting into contract negotiations. He’s a restricted free agent after the season, and with only 32 points total on the season, it will be hard for him to ask for something significant. In fact, he may want to take a bridge deal to build off the good fortune. A Pavel Zacha type contract might be his goal (three years, $6.75 million total). However, if he were to go big in the last 13 games and score a point per game, he might be worth something much bigger (five years, $20-25 million maybe?).