The New Jersey Devils today agreed to a one-year contract with restricted free-agent forward Jesper Bratt worth $5,450,000. Bratt was scheduled to go to arbitration today. The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald.
Bratt, 23, completed his fifth NHL season, beginning his career with New Jersey in 2017-18. The 5'10", 175lbs. forward set career highs last season in goals (26), assists (47), shots (197), power-play points (18), time on ice (17:26), and points (73). The left-handed shot's 26 tallies were tied with Jack Hughes for the team lead, while his assist, shots, PP points, and points totals all ranked first on New Jersey. Bratt inked his name into team history by being the first Swedish-born skater to lead the Devils in points for a single season. Additionally, Bratt's six-game winning goals led the club and were a career-high.
In 307 career contests, Bratt has totaled 203 career points (70g-133a), which are also the most earned by an NHL player who was selected after the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft. He became the first Devils player since Taylor Hall in 2017-18 to record 70-or-more points in a single season. At 23 years old, Bratt was the youngest New Jersey skater to finish a season with 70-or-more points since Patrik Elias (23) and Scott Gomez (20) in 1999-00,
Bratt earned his 100th career assist and 150th point on December 6th vs Ottawa. On April 14th, he played in his 300th career game and then recorded his 200thcareer point on April 16th at Seattle.
Born on July 30, 1998, he was selected by New Jersey in the sixth round, 162nd overall, in the 2016 NHL Draft. He was signed by the team on May 12, 2017, and made his NHL debut on October 7, 2017, versus Colorado where he notched his first career goal and assist.
The winger spent two seasons, 2015-17, playing for AIK (Allsvenskan) in Sweden. In 95 career games, he tallied 14 goals and 25 assists for 39 points. He represented Sweden at the 2016 U18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2019 World Championship.
Jesper Bratt Agrees To One-Year Contract with Devils | RELEASE
Bratt and Devils were scheduled to go to arbitration this morning
