New Jersey Devils: We Finally Learn Jesper Bratt’s Fate This Week

It seemed like this time it was going to be much easier. The New Jersey Devils and Jesper Bratt both wanted the same thing. Or so we thought.

It seemed like both parties wanted a long-term extension to keep Bratt in New Jersey for the foreseeable future. Bratt is coming off by far his best season, but it’s not like this wasn’t expected. He had been showing signs of life without the consistency. Last season, he found that consistency. Despite juggling the season with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer as his centers, Bratt was always producing.

He finished the season with 73 points in 76 games. He was also decent in his own end, and he was just about the only power play producer outside of Hughes. Bratt was doing everything right, and he deserved to be rewarded for it.

However, that isn’t going to be as easy as it looks on paper. Bratt has seen some very similar players get some very good deals this offseason. While the Devils probably hoped that a seven-year deal for $7 million per season should have been their peak in negotiations, Kevin Fiala just signed a seven-year deal paying him a total of $55 milliion (roughly $7.9 million per season).

Bratt’s agent Joakim Persson is known for some pretty serious negotiations. The Devils have been here before. The last time Bratt and the Devils were negotiating, Bratt didn’t sign on the dotted line until very late in training camp. That wouldn’t be the biggest problem if it wasn’t a pandemic. It was a pandemic, and Bratt got stuck in Sweden and couldn’t return to America in time for the start of the season.

Bratt also missed Lindy Ruff’s first training camp, which clearly put him behind the eight ball. Bratt is Persson’s cash cow. His most valuable client beyond Bratt is Linus Ullmark. This makes this negotiation very important to Persson personally and professionally. Winning this deal could get him many more Swedish clients.

The Devils will have an answer from Bratt either way this week. Either he signs a long-term deal on the dotted line, or they head to arbitration. The issue with arbitration (besides the obvious hurt feelings that come with it) is that players and teams can only negotiate for one or two-year deals. Long-term deals are off the table once the process is finished.

So, Wednesday is the day. August 3rd is when the arbitration process starts and the Devils will know how to proceed with Bratt. It was another hard negotiation process, so we imagine the Devils work hard to get a long-term deal done in the next few days. Unfortunately, the Devils and Bratt’s agent might have different priorities.