New Jersey Devils: Possible Scenarios After Jesper Bratt’s One-Year Deal

Earlier Wednesday morning, the New Jersey Devils announced that they re-signed star winger Jesper Bratt to a one-year, $5.45 million contract extension. This extension announcement came minutes after the 9 a.m. deadline when arbitration was supposed to begin. This is a fairly decent end to the Bratt saga that lasted all summer.

As much as I would have liked a long-term extension, it never seemed that Bratt wanted one. Another big point of this extension is that Bratt will still be an RFA next season, so this dance between Joakim Persson and Tom Fitzgerald can continue next summer as well. Let’s look at the possible outcomes of this extension.

Long-term Deal

Yes, this is still on the table. One outcome that could arise is that Bratt and the Devils agree to a long-term deal. While I find this unlikely, The Devils might need one more year of consistency from Bratt in order to feel comfortable offering him a 6 or 7-year deal.

With this current extension, the earliest a long-term deal can be discussed is in January 2023. If Bratt is having another stellar season, the front office might be satisfied. However, this option has a lot of risks attached to it. What if Bratt prices himself out of Newark? What if he wants $9+ million when he would have taken $8 million this season? These are the questions Fitzgerald must answer.