Three New Jersey Devils file for arbitration

The Devils also filed for club-elected arbitration with forward Miles Wood.

Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey, and everything else, with our writers and subscribers.

---

New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has been as active as anyone in July. He has made three notable trades – and added two more players via free agency – over the last couple weeks.

While there may be further roster tinkering, the pendulum is swinging from adding players to getting those on the roster signed.

The Devils still have four restricted free agents with arbitration rights in Jesper Bratt, Tyce Thompson, Vitek Vanecek, and Miles Wood.

Bratt, Thompson, and Vanecek were among the 24 players to file for arbitration in advance of today’s deadline. Meanwhile, the team has already elected to take Wood to arbitration.

Players and teams often come to agreement prior to a hearing but, as it stands, the Devils can pencil in four cases between July 27th and August 11th.

Each situation is different, of course, so I want to give my thoughts in isolation. We’ll start with the big one.

Jesper Bratt

Fitzgerald has made it no secret he’s submitted what he feels is a competitive and fair offer to Bratt. That it hasn’t been signed suggests No. 63’s camp feels much differently.

They have put a clock on Fitzgerald and the Devils by filing for arbitration as a long-term agreement can’t be awarded.

If the Devils are serious about getting Bratt locked up for the long haul, they’re going to have to go through Bratt’s camp; and they’re going to have to do it soon.

This is a classic negotiation tactic used to try and bridge the gap between two sides. Any possibility of an offer sheet evaporated when Bratt filed for arbitration. That leverage point, if it really existed in the first place, is completely gone.

It’s just about Bratt’s camp and the Devils now; with pressure being put on the latter.

Do the Devils want to throw shade at Bratt in arbitration – causing further damage to a relationship that already seems on thin ice – en route to a short-term deal, or do the Devils want to make Bratt a long-term core piece and put all the bad blood to rest?