Jesper Bratt has been an amazing player for the New Jersey Devils this season. Which line would make the most sense for him in the second half of the season?
The New Jersey Devils have been struggling mightily to gain points in the standings. Their major issues have come on the backside of the roster, with Dougie Hamilton, Jonathan Bernier, and Mackenzie Blackwood dealing with different levels of injuries this season. The team has been struggling on that end (although, Jon Gillies played as well as can be expected this weekend). However, there are some positives coming from this season at the forward position.
The biggest bright light on this team is Jack Hughes. His ability to make plays happen means more to this team than anything. He still has some rough games, as he did against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, but for the most part, he’s a net positive. The other huge season is coming from Jesper Bratt.
Bratt is the largest play driver on the team this season. Yes, he’s even better at it than Hughes so far. Every line he’s on is the best line on the team. It’s just the facts. When he was paired with Dawson Mercer and Andreas Johnsson, those two were having a phenomenal season. Since he’s come off that line, they’ve both struggled offensively. When he was on a line with Nico Hischier and Pavel Zacha, they were driving the bus on both sides of the ice. Zacha was looking like he would repeat his goal scoring of last season, and Hischier was able to do so many positive things.
Now, Bratt has been paired with Yegor Sharangovich and Hughes, and there is a ton of chemistry there. Hughes was named to the All-Star team because of how well this pairing has gone since the Christmas break. These two are the Devils best players right now with Hamilton out injured, and they are the reason the Devils are winning any games.
So, we have to ask whether it makes more sense for the Devils to go with Bratt and Hughes together. We already know that Bratt works with every major center on the team. They aren’t going to put him on the fourth line with Michael McLeod, although we’re pretty confident he would make that work too. So, moving forward, where is the best place to play Jesper Bratt for the rest of the season?