New Jersey Devils avoid arbitration with Jesper Bratt

The 24-year-old inked a one-year extension at the 11th hour.

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The New Jersey Devils have signed 24-year-old winger Jesper Bratt to a one-year contract extension worth $5.45 million.

This deal came at the 11th hour; in fact, it wasn’t announced by the club until well after the 9 a.m. arbitration hearing was scheduled to begin.

Had that hearing taken place, the Devils would’ve argued for a salary of $4.15M while Bratt’s camp aimed for $6.5M.

That’s a gap of $2.35 million, a difference that was more or less split between the two sides to avoid what surely would’ve been a contentious hearing.

Considering negotiations on Bratt’s last deal were long, and taxing, the last thing either side needed was to pour fuel on the fire.

New Jersey arguing against the worth of a guy who just put up 73 points in 76 games – while massively out-performing his contract – might well have been the final nail in the coffin of their relationship.

Don’t get me wrong; the waters are still murky. If negotiations don’t go more smoothly this time next year, Bratt’s camp can simply elect to sign another one-year deal and walk to free agency following the 2023-24 campaign.

The pressure will be on Tom Fitzgerald to give in a little and make Bratt feel valued as the player he is.

In saying that, getting this deal done ahead of arbitration should at least leave the door open for a long-term marriage.