5 Jesper Bratt Trade Targets New Jersey Devils Fans Might Accept
One very prominent hockey analyst seemingly brought up Jesper Bratt’s name out of nowhere, so we look into who the New Jersey Devils could acquire that might make fans less likely to leave.
Daily Faceoff came out on Monday and dropped a bomb on the New Jersey Devils fanbase. Frank Seravalli came out and said he “a lot of teams wonder” if Jesper Bratt is available. He said he isn’t “readily” available, but he thinks teams are asking about him. Teams should ask about Bratt. He’s finally breaking out once and for all.
At 23 years old, Bratt has 48 points in 47 games. He is scoring goals and providing good opportunities for either Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier. Both the Devils former first-overall picks are better players with Bratt on their line.
Let’s look into that for just a second. Hughes played 203 5v5 minutes with Bratt, and Hischier has played 173 minutes with him. Hughes gets a lot more chances overall and his high-danger chances are through the roof on a line with Bratt. Hischier is in the same boat. In fact, with Bratt, he gets 69 percent of the high-danger chances while he’s on the ice according to Natural Stat Trick. That would account for the best number in the league if it was full-time. Patrice Bergeron currently leads the stat with 68 percent (minimum 100 minutes played).
So basically, Bratt helps Hischier turn into Patrice Bergeron, the one player most Devils fans hope he turns into one day. See how that works?
Why the Devils would even consider this trade is beyond us, but we try to make sense of this situation. They apparently want to “shuffle the deck”. To make this move and not lose the fanbase, they need someone of serious substance in return. Which players might help the fanbase swallow this trade a little easier? And no, it doesn’t come with a spoonful of sugar.
Cole Caufield – Montreal Canadiens
Let’s start right off the bat with an intriguing one. The Montreal Canadiens don’t want to spend too much time in a rebuild despite the fact they could use it. The team brought in a brand new regime this season, showing they could use a complete change in philosophy. They have this very intriguing piece in Cole Caufield. He’s been helped the most by the hire of Martin St. Louis. The former Lightning great was hired on February 9th. Caufield has had 10 points since then, six of which were goals scored.
Maybe the Canadiens want to see how this partnership thrives in the future. Maybe they want to trade Caufield while his value is at its highest again. Caufield has been very inconsistent this season, and he’s finally putting up points. Prior to this current run, he only had eight points this season.
We’ve seen what Caufield and Hughes can do together. It’s literal magic. Sure, Bratt and Hughes are great together, but Hughes and Caufield had a natural chemistry that’s unmatched. They can score a ton of goals together. The big issue is size. Caufield fell in the draft because he’s 5’7 and less than 170 lbs. This would make the Devils top line one of the smallest lines in hockey no matter who they put on the other wing.
It’s something to consider, but the upside is probably better than the downside. However, is that a risk worth taking when talking about losing Jesper Bratt? It might be the reason this trade doesn’t happen.
Timo Meier – San Jose Sharks
This one makes the most sense for a lot of reasons. For one, Timo Meier has a history with Nico Hischier. The two players have played for Switzerland on multiple occasions. They have natural chemistry, similar to what we’ve seen from Hughes and Caufield. The difference is what a Hischier-Meier pairing would bring to the table. It allows to the Devils to legitimately play two lines like a top line. Pair Hughes with two wingers like maybe Sharangovich and Alex Holtz while Hischier plays with Meier and whoever else the Devils want.
Why would the Sharks trade Meier? He’s been in trade rumors for what seems like years now. However, he’s coming off his first All-Star appearance. The Sharks know what they have in this 25-year-old winger.
Bratt and Meier hold some similarities. They are both sitting on contracts that are going to come with raises. Meier can re-sign in the offseason and Bratt has to re-sign this offseason. Meier is looking at an intense contract in 2022-23. He has $10 million coming to him next season, a pretty hefty raise. What makes it worse is that will be his qualifying offer will be $10 million, which could be a theoretical “starting point” for a deal. Meier is not worth a $10 million deal. However, he’s getting that at least for two years.
That contract could give the Sharks nightmares, and they might want to get an asset they can deal with right now. The Devils might be a place where Meier is willing to take a slight discount. He’s playing with his fellow countryman, and the Devils could be a team on the rise. Turning Meier into Bratt is probably the best the Sharks could do at this point.
Alex DeBrincat – Chicago Blackhawks
Alex DeBrincat is a player who’s also seen his name in trade rumors, but the Chicago Blackhawks are in a weird spot. They traded their first-round pick in the deal that brought Seth Jones to their lineup. They made a move to get Marc-Andre Fleury. Chicago thought they would be competing at least for a playoff spot this season. Like the Devils, the Blackhawks have been dealing with a season from Hell. Obviously, there are some self-inflicted wounds with the investigation into the 2010 championship team. One player who doesn’t deserve the situation is DeBrincat.
Our own Vinnie Parise talked about some trade packages for DeBrincat for Da Windy City, FanSided’s Chicago-based blog. Some of the trade packages are wild. They include star prospect defensemen and a first-round pick. The Devils aren’t making that move, but DeBrincat isn’t too far off of the value that Bratt brings to the table. The fact that he’s unsigned after this season could be seen as a deterrent or a positive in any trade talks.
This seems like one of those trades where more pieces are involved. Both the Devils and Blackhawks need major changes. Maybe the Devils target goalie Kevin Lankinen. Maybe the Blackhawks want Pavel Zacha as well. There are major trades that could happen here.
It would hurt to lose Bratt in any deal, but to get DeBrincat back would be a major win. He’s just as skilled as Bratt, and they are around the same age. This is a true move to retool the Devils, as they wouldn’t lose anything from the loss of Bratt.
Jesper Wallstedt – Minnesota Wild
This one is hard to pull off, and it might work better with Yaroslav Askarov, but we’re not sure John Hynes is looking to reunite with Jesper Bratt. When it comes to the Minnesota Wild, they have one of the strangest cap situations in the league. They decided to buy out both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. That means they will have $12.7 million in dead cap next season. They only have around $9 million in cap space after everything.
With that $9 million, they need to re-sign Kevin Fiala, Kaapo Kahkonen, and they have to fill out the rest of the lineup. It’s not a good situation, and adding whatever Bratt is going to make would only make it worse. That is unless the Devils help with that.
Obviously, the Devils want Jesper Wallstedt for Bratt because it could give them more of a guarantee in goal. Wallstedt is not a guarantee by any means, but he seems to have more going for him than Mackenzie Blackwood at this point.
The issue is getting the Devils to take money back. Mats Zuccarello is an interesting name, as he has two more seasons at $6 million per, but he has a no-move clause. Marcus Foligno might be a lot easier to swallow at $3.1 million. Making this work would be interesting, and it would rip the Wild’s window wide open and might make them true contenders this season depending on what happens in net for them.
Rasmus Dahlin – Buffalo Sabres
This one would take some convincing, and the Devils probably have to add a little more to the deal, but there is a foundation here that could work. Rasmus Dahlin is a diamond in the rough when it comes to the Buffalo Sabres. He’s been stuck in Buffalo since he was taken first overall, and the defenseman has grown every season.
Dahlin has two more seasons on his contract, so it’s not like he is getting a huge raise any time soon. He’s making a very affordable $6 million per season. This would be a great contract for the Devils to fit while still paying Damon Severson, Ryan Graves, and a few others. Ty Smith is going to make the minimum for now, and if he doesn’t turn it around, he won’t ever get to be too expensive. Luke Hughes will also make the minimum when he comes onto the Devils for at least three years. Imagine a core defense with Dahlin, Smith, Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, and either Shakir Mukhamadullin, Kevin Bahl, or Nikita Okhotiuk? Add in Jonas Siegenthaler and the team is in great shape.
This might be the one move the Devils should covet the most. There aren’t many goalie answers that are actually available, so making the defense impenetrable is the next-best thing.
Next. 3 MORE Jesper Bratt Trades We'd Consider. dark
The Devils shouldn’t look to trade Bratt in the first place, but if they do, these names make the most sense. It would actually help the Devils move forward towards contention without losing the talent that is Bratt.