New Jersey Devils: 3 Scenarios For Jesper Bratt Contract Negotiations

Arbitration

We touched on this in the last slide, but there is a real possibility that the Devils and Bratt can’t come up with a deal; this time, they don’t make up before arbitration hits. That would likely ruin the relationship with the Devils, but they would sit on the deal for whatever it ends up being worth.

There is likely no coming back for the Devils and Bratt if they head to arbitration. The Devils will accept the terms because they want to win a Stanley Cup, and Bratt helps them get there. However, Bratt drew this out for a third time, and they couldn’t come to a deal. At that point, they would treat him like a rental.

As you noticed, none of these options involve a trade. There is no world where the Devils trade Bratt unless something insane happens. There was a reason he made comments in his exit interview about being back next season. That shows confidence that the two sides will get a deal done.

If they can’t, this is the reason arbitration is in place. It’s a last-ditch effort, and the Devils might need that. It would march Bratt right towards unrestricted free agency. That might be the end of that for this partnership.