Jesper Bratt SIGNED 8YR / $63 / $7.875 AAV

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

 

35 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Pavel Datsyuk was a 6th round pick. I have to imagine he made plenty of money over the years. 

 

33 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

Henrik Zetterberg was a 7th round pick. DET really hit the money in that era.

Their biggest contracts AAV were both below $7.5 mill, which was a surprise but it was a while back. I imagine they are both probably top earners if they were around now

Edited June 15, 2023 by Chimaira_Devil_#9

[Satans Hockey]

I like it, I'm ready for next season to start. Have 0 interest in the draft and it's lovely to actually being looking forward to the season starting again instead of anything related to the draft. 

I hope everyone we draft is great, I just can't be bothered to read nor follow these guys and what they do until they get here besides the junior and world tournaments. 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Satans Hockey

[slasher72]

4 hours ago, MadDog2020 said:

Bout time. Eight years is a lot. Bratt better be a different player in the spring next year.

Exactly. If he disappears again in the playoffs and mopes around on the ice, it'll suck. 

[RunninWithTheDevil]

3 hours ago, Nicomo said:

The only downside I see is that insufferable Bratt Pack dude will be plaguing Devils Twitter for another 8 years.

 

2 hours ago, Guadana said:

Yeah…

https://twitter.com/TheBrattPack63/status/1669395377026367493?s=20

[RizzMB30]

Yayyyy! Cheers! Comes in at just under 8m. Not upset by that price tag. 

Love Bratt for what he brings. 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by RizzMB30

[eaglejelly]

7 hours ago, DevilMinder said:

Really 63 million? Damn Fitz lets keep the jersey numbers under 35 for now on.

Glad he is signed!

Lou obviously knew what he was doing

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Gotta give Bratt some props here…he turned to be completely true to his word.  He absolutely put him himself out there as both wanting to stay and wanting to stay long-term, and said he had complete confidence that something would get done.  And this didn’t drag at all, if you really think about it…the Devils’ season ended on 5/11.  This got done in mid-June…before the draft, before the start of UFA, all of it.

The one thing that I think many of us thought could be a major hassle turned to be nothing of the sort.

One reason I can’t say that I was all that concerned was because Fitz was pretty quiet about the whole thing.  I think if it had gotten contentious this time around, and Fitz really thought that Bratt’s camp was being ridiculous, he would have made it known that “Hey, I’m not the friggin’ problem here, I’m being plenty fair!”  Fortunately it never came to that.  

Edited June 16, 2023 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[MadDog2020]

4 hours ago, Chimaira_Devil_#9 said:

 

 

Their biggest contracts AAV were both below $7.5 mill, which was a surprise but it was a while back. I imagine they are both probably top earners if they were around now

Those two dudes are both 8x9 each easily today. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by MadDog2020

[RizzMB30]

1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Gotta give Bratt some props here…he turned to be completely true to his word.  He absolutely put him himself out there as both wanting to stay and wanting to stay long-term, and said he had complete confidence that something would get done.  And this didn’t drag at all, if you really think about it…the Devils’ season ended on 5/11.  This got done in mid-June…before the draft, before the start of UFA, all of it.

The one thing that I think many of us thought could be a major hassle turned to be nothing of the sort.

One reason I can’t say that I was all that concerned was because Fitz was pretty quiet about the whole thing.  I think if it had gotten contentious this time around, and Fitz really thought that Bratt’s camp was being ridiculous, he would have made it known that “Hey, I’m not the friggin’ problem here, I’m being plenty fair!”  Fortunately it never came to that.  

I'm almost willing to say Bratt took the essentially the Hischier contract. 8 years for < 8M/year. Once we lock in Meier it looks like this is the serious core. Let's see if Meier will take the Hischier special for his deal too. Maybe he's convinced like Bratt and will essentially take a little less than he's worth on the open market. 

We lock in Meier for 7-8 years at 8.5M AAV or under and Fitz really deserves that GM trophy. Basically just asking our top guys to take a little less than what they could make elsewhere and be a part of something special here for the next 5 years. 

EDIT: I am wrong, Bratt was a little less than Hughes, not a little more than Hischier in terms of AAV. 
 

Edited June 16, 2023 by RizzMB30

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 minute ago, RizzMB30 said:

I'm almost willing to say Bratt took the essentially the Hischier contract. 8 years for < 8M/year. Once we lock in Meier it looks like this is the serious core. Let's see if Meier will take the Hischier special for his deal too. Maybe he's convinced like Bratt and will essentially take a little less than he's worth on the open market. 

We lock in Meier for 7-8 years at 8.5M AAV or under and Fitz really deserves that GM trophy. Basically just asking our top guys to take a little less than what they could make elsewhere and be a part of something special here for the next 5 years. 

Hischier “only” took seven years, but when his time to renew comes up, Jack will still have three years left, and Bratt four.  So many other moving parts, and way too early to make any predictions, but at least the possibility exists that he could be re-signed if it makes sense for the Devils.  But not going to worry about that right now.

Yeah I have Timo potentially signing for $8.5 million AAV for six years.   Curious to see how close I wind up being.

[MadDog2020]

https://twitter.com/ryannovo62/status/1669455060923822080

[RunninWithTheDevil]

Fitz taking to media this morning

[NJDfan1711]

17 hours ago, Lateralous said:

There’s a pretty long list of relatively interchangeable free agent goalies.   Just get one for cheap as a 3rd option 

Yeah, I mean I can't stress enough how much goalie is NOT a top concern for this team. If people aren't comfortable with Vanecek and/or Schmid getting the bulk of starts next year I don't know what to say. Teams simply don't carry three could-be-starting-goaltenders, nor should they. 

With Bratt having eaten up a chunk of our cap space now, we absolutely need to devote the rest of what we have to one more solid D man and one solid winger. 

Do we think Holtz makes the team next year, provided he has a good training camp?

I friend of mine who is a die hard Lightning fan brought up an interesting proposal the other day. Graves is a free agent and so is Ross Colton. I feel like Colton is the guy we need to replace Wood and/or Tatar, and the Bolts need a big d-man with size.  An even 1-to-1 swap seems to make a ton of sense to me. 

[Devilsfan118]

https://twitter.com/ryannovo62/status/1669706324580417540?s=20

big dick fitz

[MadDog2020]

1 minute ago, Devilsfan118 said:

https://twitter.com/ryannovo62/status/1669706324580417540?s=20

big dick fitz

https://twitter.com/Pmasur/status/1669706652466003968

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, NJDfan1711 said:

Yeah, I mean I can't stress enough how much goalie is NOT a top concern for this team. If people aren't comfortable with Vanecek and/or Schmid getting the bulk of starts next year I don't know what to say. Teams simply don't carry three could-be-starting-goaltenders, nor should they. 

With Bratt having eaten up a chunk of our cap space now, we absolutely need to devote the rest of what we have to one more solid D man and one solid winger. 

Do we think Holtz makes the team next year, provided he has a good training camp?

I friend of mine who is a die hard Lightning fan brought up an interesting proposal the other day. Graves is a free agent and so is Ross Colton. I feel like Colton is the guy we need to replace Wood and/or Tatar, and the Bolts need a big d-man with size.  An even 1-to-1 swap seems to make a ton of sense to me. 

Re:  the last point, the only reason to swap their rights is if one or both teams want to sign those players to max-term deals.  Or I guess they could try to jump the market, if Graves wants to go to the Lightning, and Colton wants to come here.  But if Timo’s sticking around, Fitz will have to tighten the purse strings some…after Timo, the remaining signings should be shorter-term, less costly contracts.

[RizzMB30]

12 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

https://twitter.com/ryannovo62/status/1669706324580417540?s=20

big dick fitz

 

11 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

https://twitter.com/Pmasur/status/1669706652466003968

Wow. That's some hardball negotiation. I hope they have the sauce for that claim because that is a wild claim. 

It would not surprise me if the Devils/Fitz did this though. Not at all because that is simply the reality of the situation when it comes to a player of Bratt's caliber. If we can't have you/you don't want us, we need to make something happen and can't lose you for nothing. Kind of goes back to Hughes telling the guys to nut up and sign the deal. 

Looks like the Meier deal is also imminent based around Fitz's comments this morning.

Edited June 16, 2023 by RizzMB30

[NJDevils1214]

3 minutes ago, RizzMB30 said:

 

Wow. That's some hardball negotiation. I hope they have the sauce for that claim because that is a wild claim. 

It would not surprise me if the Devils/Fitz did this though. Not at all because that is simply the reality of the situation when it comes to a player of Bratt's caliber. If we can't have you/you don't want us, we need to make something happen and can't lose you for nothing. Kind of goes back to Hughes telling the guys to nut up and sign the deal. 

Dano said on the NHL network that he thought the deal Bratt signed had been on the table for a long time... So Fitz went final offer and didn't blink. I love it. Jack must have known in that quote... You wanna be in Jersey then just sign the deal.

Edited June 16, 2023 by NJDevils1214

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

7 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

Dano said on the NHL network that he thought the deal Bratt signed had been on the table for a long time... So Fitz went final offer and didn't blink. I love it. Jack must have known in that quote... You wanna be in Jersey then just sign the deal.

Yeah I saw that too and based on that and Fitz saying that he had the "framework" for a deal in place, here's one fan's speculation as to what likely happened:

Some time ago, Fitz offers this proposal.  He basically says "Guys, you're not getting Jack money, that's where I draw the line, but this is pretty much as close as you can get to it.  You say you want to stay here long-term, well, it doesn't get any more long-term than this.  We're not coming up with any 'Well, maybe 2 years, maybe 3, maybe 4' this time around.  I spent too much of the last summer fvcking around with that, and we're not doing it again.  My best and final is RIGHT HERE.  Take your time, you don't have to sign this for a while, I'm not going to rescind it anytime soon, but we are NOT wasting a single minute on alternate proposals this summer.  No."

June rolls around...

Fitz:  "OK, time's up.  Deal's still on table.  Jesper, you either want to stay here or you don't.  No, there won't be any scenarios where you see how much more you could get in 2, 3, 4 years.  I have other players that I will need to pay, including Timo, who I'd like to keep...and other guys down the line.  I'm trying to build something sustainable.  If absolute top dollar is your priority, I'll send you somewhere where maybe you can cash in.  Your call.  Make up your mind.  NOW."

And I get the feeling shortly after, Jesper simply told his agent something along the lines of "Thank you for all you've done, I know you've tried very hard to get me the best deal possible, but I really want to stay in New Jersey.  I want to sign."

Jesper's agent:  "But I'm sure if we..."

Jesper:  "NO.  I want to stay with the Devils.  Let's sign the deal.  That's it."

 

Last year, I think Jesper's agent fully ran the show, right up until the very end.  This time, I think Jesper 100% called the final shot, very likely over his agent's wishes.  Wouldn't even surprise me if his agent even told him he was making a big mistake, that more money would be available.  I think this wound up being as close to a Lou - Marty - Lupien situation (Marty's agent, who Lou decided he simply would not deal with) as possible, without it actually fully becoming that.  

[Lateralous]

1 hour ago, NJDfan1711 said:

 

Do we think Holtz makes the team next year, provided he has a good training camp?

I friend of mine who is a die hard Lightning fan brought up an interesting proposal the other day. Graves is a free agent and so is Ross Colton.

I don’t know the answer to the first question but I think we’re in a good position that if Holtz shows he deserves it, he can play but it won’t kill us to send him back to Utica for another year.  
 

if the rights to Graves for Colton is something Tampa would do, that’s a fantastic idea 

[RizzMB30]

29 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Yeah I saw that too and based on that and Fitz saying that he had the "framework" for a deal in place, here's one fan's speculation as to what likely happened:

Some time ago, Fitz offers this proposal.  He basically says "Guys, you're not getting Jack money, that's where I draw the line, but this is pretty much as close as you can get to it.  You say you want to stay here long-term, well, it doesn't get any more long-term than this.  We're not coming up with any 'Well, maybe 2 years, maybe 3, maybe 4' this time around.  I spent too much of the last summer fvcking around with that, and we're not doing it again.  My best and final is RIGHT HERE.  Take your time, you don't have to sign this for a while, I'm not going to rescind it anytime soon, but we are NOT wasting a single minute on alternate proposals this summer.  No."

June rolls around...

Fitz:  "OK, time's up.  Deal's still on table.  Jesper, you either want to stay here or you don't.  No, there won't be any scenarios where you see how much more you could get in 2, 3, 4 years.  I have other players that I will need to pay, including Timo, who I'd like to keep...and other guys down the line.  I'm trying to build something sustainable.  If absolute top dollar is your priority, I'll send you somewhere where maybe you can cash in.  Your call.  Make up your mind.  NOW."

And I get the feeling shortly after, Jesper simply told his agent something along the lines of "Thank you for all you've done, I know you've tried very hard to get me the best deal possible, but I really want to stay in New Jersey.  I want to sign."

Jesper's agent:  "But I'm sure if we..."

Jesper:  "NO.  I want to stay with the Devils.  Let's sign the deal.  That's it."

 

Last year, I think Jesper's agent fully ran the show, right up until the very end.  This time, I think Jesper 100% called the final shot, very likely over his agent's wishes.  Wouldn't even surprise me if his agent even told him he was making a big mistake, that more money would be available.  I think this wound up being as close to a Lou - Marty - Lupien situation (Marty's agent, who Lou decided he simply would not deal with) as possible, without it actually fully becoming that.  

Yeah. I think Jack signing for 8m set to standard where Fitz can say, "Well, look our best player is Jack Hughes, is your client better/more productive than Jack?". He can start any negotiation with here is my team's ceiling and we can start discussing around that 8m number. 

And you have to get Bratt's side too where he has his agent whispering in his ear, "Hey, look at who you are comparable to. You are worth 8-10 million on the UFA market and you could be leaving a lot of money on the table here." 

EDIT: Just finished the two interviews. Fitz is great. Liked AStein's question actually about, "When did you first see something you liked about Bratt?" And he said the WJC training camp before Bratt was going to go play a year in London, but he made the Devils out of camp and stayed. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by RizzMB30

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

6 minutes ago, Lateralous said:

I don’t know the answer to the first question but I think we’re in a good position that if Holtz shows he deserves it, he can play but it won’t kill us to send him back to Utica for another year.  
if the rights to Graves for Colton is something Tampa would do, that’s a fantastic idea 

Maybe a dual sign-and-trade heh heh.  That would be something.

[NJDevils1214]

30 minutes ago, Lateralous said:

I don’t know the answer to the first question but I think we’re in a good position that if Holtz shows he deserves it, he can play but it won’t kill us to send him back to Utica for another year.  
 

if the rights to Graves for Colton is something Tampa would do, that’s a fantastic idea 

The reason they have to trade Colton is because of the cap so I am not sure a swap is going to be good enough for Graves. TBL need some ELCs and they just got nothing.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

9 minutes ago, RizzMB30 said:

Yeah. I think Jack signing for 8m set to standard where Fitz can say, "Well, look our best player is Jack Hughes, is your client better/more productive than Jack?". He can start any negotiation with here is my team's ceiling and we can start discussing around that 8m number. 

And you have to get Bratt's side too where he has his agent whispering in his ear, "Hey, look at who you are comparable to. You are worth 8-10 million on the UFA market and you could be leaving a lot of money on the table here." 

I suspect this is where all of them stand today:

Bratt - I'm happy, I'm staying in NJ, I've got a max-term deal, team should be competitive for many years

Fitz - I'm happy, this is finally behind us and finished, they took a deal that I think was fair to them AND my team

Bratt's agent - EXACTLY what you said, heh heh (Dammit, he could've gotten more easily, why wouldn't he let me get that for him?!  I hate my job!)

[Lateralous]

20 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

The reason they have to trade Colton is because of the cap so I am not sure a swap is going to be good enough for Graves. TBL need some ELCs and they just got nothing.

I would throw in a slightly used Sharangovich.  I'm sure they can sign him real cheap and that would be a good place for Yegor to jumpstart his career. 

...or if we're getting Colton and they need NHL ready players on ELCs, we could give them Foote back.