Jesper Bratt's disaster Olympics will make it impossible to trade him

The New Jersey Devils will have a lot to do once the players return from the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. The team is in the gutter, 11 points out of the playoffs, and there isn’t a good direction for the franchise. The team hasn’t made any significant moves, outside of trading Ondrej Palat and trading for Nick Bjugstad. 

They didn’t fire Sheldon Keefe or Tom Fitzgerald. They didn’t make any drastic moves, including trading Dougie Hamilton (whom they literally told the world they were trading). They haven’t traded a core piece. They made moves that seemed obvious or small compared to what they needed. They didn’t trade for Quinn Hughes or trade away Timo Meier. They made some moves on the outskirts, and it’s why they are in no-man’s land.

The Devils players are doing well at the 2026 Winter Olympics, which is a nice distraction from what’s been an awful season. Timo Meier has been one of the best players in Milan. Nico Hischier finally broke out in the knockout round. Jack Hughes has been great for Team USA. Even Jacob Markstrom has been playing well, allowing just one goal against Latvia in a victory that sent them to the quarterfinals. 

In that quarterfinal victory, someone seemingly important was missing. Jesper Bratt.

Sweden’s head coach, Sam Hallam, chose to make Jesper Bratt a healthy scratch. He already benched Bratt after their loss to Finland, and now it appears Bratt is the odd man out for this franchise. It’s truly an insane decision that embarrasses the Devils' star winger, but it creates an interesting dilemma for the team back home. 

We have a feeling that everything is on the table for this Devils’ team. One could see the core of the Devils and wonder if it makes sense. Jack Hughes is still young, but well within his prime. Nico Hischier is now due for his third contract. Timo Meier is approaching 30 years old. And this team is about to miss the playoffs for the sixth time in the last eight years. 

They’ve won one playoff series with this core. They have as many playoff wins as they have missed playoffs in the past eight years. That’s not a good look. We can see why trading a core piece might be on the table.

However, to trade a core piece, it has to be for an amazing haul or for another core piece from another team. Right now, with Jesper Bratt very openly being benched on an international stage, it’s going to hurt his value. 

Do the Devils want to trade Jesper Bratt? Probably not. They probably want to make a move closer to trading Dawson Mercer or adding a long-term piece. However, taking this off the table with the decision of a rogue coach who has already been replaced by Team Sweden is insane. Maybe things change with the Swedes taking on Team USA on Wednesday, but we’d highly doubt it. 

It’s set to be a terrible situation for Bratt at the Olympics, and we can’t see this being a motivating situation for the superstar distributor. While the other members of their Olympic teams are living out a dream come true, this is a nightmare for Bratt. And it’s a nightmare for Tom Fitzgerald if he wanted Bratt’s situation to be on the table.