The New Jersey Devils have shown very little in the first round of the NHL playoffs. A few players who are looking for new contracts are costing themselves in the postseason.
Going into this postseason, the New Jersey Devils had 13 players currently in the last year of their contract. That number is 14 if you count Jonathan Bernier. There are a lot of players looking to get paid this offseason, whether with the Devils or on another team. Some players are fighting for their careers, while others are going to get a serious raise. Some still have their rights owned by the Devils, but at least five unrestricted free agents could go anywhere.
Teams will pay top dollar for a player who delivers in the postseason. These 13 players (well, 12 because Mackenzie Blackwood isn’t playing) were looking to prove the deserve the bag. Now, with the Devils down 2-0 in the New York Rangers series and scoring just two goals, they all cost themselves a ton of money. It starts at the top.
Jesper Bratt, Current AAV $5.45 million
Buckle up. It’s going to be another stressful summer between Jesper Bratt’s camp and the New Jersey Devils front office. Bratt had another successful season, scoring a career-high 32 goals and matching the 73 points he scored in 2021-22. While his points per game went down, nobody would argue Bratt was any worse than he was last season.
There is one problem. Bratt saw both Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes pass him in production, and now Timo Meier is on the team, too. He needed a big postseason to really prove his worth. Obviously, the Devils like having a 73-point player on the roster.
Bratt wants to be a $9 million player. Unfortunately, Bratt is still waiting for his first postseason point. The Devils have two goals. The first power play has been terrible, and Bratt has done absolutely nothing. To be fair to him, the Devils’ recent change in style of play suits him literally the least on the team. Adding toughness is not part of his game. However, he has to be able to play any style for $9 million. Would Tom Fitzgerald say yes to $7 million right now? That’s an interesting question.