Bratt agrees to a contract worth $63,000,000 with an annual average value of $7,875,000.
By the end of the 2022-23 season, New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald knew his team was on the fast track to becoming a Stanley Cup contender. His young core got a taste of postseason hockey and now understands how difficult it is to win a round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In this summer series, I will chronologically break down every move the organization made this offseason and discuss how it positively or negatively impacts the team for the 2023-24 season.
Pending restricted free agent Jesper Bratt was confident he would return to New Jersey when he met with reporters for his end-of-season media availability on May 13.
"We'll get it done. I'll see you guys for the next couple of years to come."
A little over a month later, on June 15, the organization announced the 24-year-old agreed to an eight-year contract with an annual average value of $7,875,000.
"It was always a priority to keep Jesper Bratt here long term, and both parties are thrilled that a deal was completed," said Fitzgerald in the official press release. "I value and commend the commitment Jesper made to this organization. We believe that he is a special player and a key member of our core group of talent who will contribute towards the team's long-term success and organizational goal of bringing the Stanley Cup back to New Jersey."
Bratt is coming off back-to-back 73-point seasons. He reached the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career last season, finishing the 2022-23 campaign with 32 goals. Over the past two seasons, he played himself into a top-six winger and part of the team's core along with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes.
Difficult contract negotiations over the past year led to some changing their opinion on the forward, but the truth is the Devils are a better team with Bratt on the ice. Where he lacks in size, he more than makes up for with his speed and puck-moving ability. In the 2022-23 NHLPA Player Poll, Bratt and Brayden Point tied for the fifth most underrated player in the league behind Sebastian Aho, Mika Zibanejad, Tage Thompson, and Aleksander Barkov.
In July of 2021, NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor Adam Kimelman, published a 2016 NHL Redraft, where he ranked Bratt 14th overall saying, "A sixth-round selection by the Devils, Bratt has been consistent since entering the League in 2017-18. He has scored at least 30 points in each of his four NHL seasons, including 30 (seven goals, 23 assists) in 46 games this season, and his 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists) are eighth among players from the 2016 draft."
Bratt has come a long way since being drafted in the sixth round, 162nd overall. He carved out a role and solidified himself as one of the team's top wingers. Re-signing Bratt was at the top of Fitzgerald's to-do list for a reason, and his club should reap the benefits for years to come.