New Jersey Devils: Jesper Bratt Was Never Available

Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates with teammate Jesper Bratt #63 after his overtime goal against the Edmonton Oilers at Prudential Center on December 31, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates with teammate Jesper Bratt #63 after his overtime goal against the Edmonton Oilers at Prudential Center on December 31, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald held a press conference on Wednesday evening to talk about everything happening prior to the NHL Draft. One of the main topics of conversation had to do with Jesper Bratt. The Devils restricted free agent has not been signed yet, and that’s causing the rumor mill to go crazy.

There have been rumors from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli and ESPN’s Kevin Weekes about the availability of Bratt over the last few weeks. Just hours before the press conference, Weekes shared an update on his thoughts on the Bratt contract situation.

https://twitter.com/KevinWeekes/status/1544783312161480704

The Devils had a rough negotiation with Bratt for his last contract prior to the 2020-21 season. It went so bad that it caused Bratt to miss his first training camp with Lindy Ruff and the beginning of that season. It appears the Devils are at least trying to avoid that now.

Fitzgerald says they made a significant offer to Bratt. He went on to say the offer shows the commitment the owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer have to Bratt specifically. That wasn’t even the most significant part of the press conference in terms of Bratt. Fitz went out of his way to say that Bratt isn’t and was never available in trade talks.

This shows that the Devils are committed to keeping their star 23-year-old winger. Bratt is the only superstar winger on the team, and the Devils really couldn’t afford to lose him. The rumors never really made a lot of sense, and this seems to be confirmation that all the rumors came from teams looking to acquire Bratt. We appreciate their effort, but it was never going to work.

Barring something insane, the Devils are going to keep Bratt in New Jersey for a long time. He’s going to be a part of the solution here. The Devils need as much talent as possible. It seems like the ball is in Bratt’s and his agent Joakim Persson’s court right now. If there’s a significant contract on the table, and the Bratt camp is waiting it out, then there’s nothing the Devils can really do but wait.