LeBrun: Devils have made 8 year offer to Jesper Bratt - Meier next on Devils agenda

[Marc the Habs Fan]

LeBrun rumblings: Gavrikov gets NHL trade market rolling, Dubois wants out, DeBrincat's list of teams and more

Also as the NHL offseason hits its early stride: Updates on the Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Brock Boeser, and explaining Cole Caufield's deal.

theathletic.com

Devils negotiations with Bratt — and Meier?​

My understanding is that the Devils have made an offer to pending RFA winger Jesper Bratt. And I believe that offer is for the max term, eight years.

What remains to be seen is if the Bratt camp wants to go that long on this contract or will push for a shorter-term deal that will allow the player to jump back into a more lucrative market with the cap going up over the next few years. It’s the kind of decision a lot of agents and players are debating these days, as noted above with Gavrikov.

Meanwhile, on the Timo Meier front, I don’t believe things have gotten going there yet in earnest on the contract front, but my understanding is that it’s next on the Devils’ agenda.

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[SEALBound]

Don't be a brat Bratt. Sign cheap. Win Cup.

 

[TGWL]

Don't be a brat Bratt. Sign cheap. Win Cup.

Why? I mean, I get it from a fans perspective, but why? Like if that was you, do you really even care about the cup? Some do, but most probably care more about the money. Discount maybe. Sign cheap? There's no reason to do that.

 

[PullHard]

Bratt already went cheap on a self-betting deal this year. I wouldn't think he wants to continue doing shorter term deals, would he?

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

My guess is Devils are offering under Hughes’s 8m AAV and are hoping they can get Bratt to sign at ~9m AAV x 8 years ultimately. They can’t be surprised if he has no interest and wants to bet on himself yet again one year before the cap goes up what 10m-15m??

They need to be ready for that possibility and figure out what shorter term deals they can accept.

 

[Drake1588]

There's a bunch of star players who are going to be tempted to wait before re-upping for max term. The stickiness of the flat cap has one, maybe two years left in it, and then is poised to really jump.

Then again, I keep expecting NHL players to do what NBA stars do. In that league, they sign shorter deals (with optional outs) to increase their leverage, prioritizing choice, and taking advantage of rising caps every couple of years. Superstars, stars, and even iffy stars demand and earn the individual player max.

Yet NHL players never do it. NHL players are unusually motivated by long-term security compared to their peers in other sports. Could break either way, depending on how risk averse a given player is, I guess.

 

[Play]

Trade him to Nashville already

 

[TheBeard]

In three years a Bratt contract will be a problem on that team.

 

[Erep]

There's a bunch of star players who are going to be tempted to wait before re-upping for max term. The stickiness of the flat cap has one, maybe two years left in it, and then is poised to really jump.

Then again, I keep expecting NHL players to do what NBA stars do. In that league, they sign shorter deals (with optional outs) to increase their leverage, prioritizing choice, and taking advantage of rising caps every couple of years. Superstars, stars, and even iffy stars demand and earn the individual player max.

Yet NHL players never do it. NHL players are unusually motivated by long-term security compared to their peers in other sports. Could break either way, depending on how risk averse a given player is, I guess.

NBA contracts are 4 years max (except one player per team coming off rookie contract is eligible for 5 years).

NHL CBA does not allow opt outs in the contracts.

The leverage and rules are completely different.

 

[Forge]

In three years a Bratt contract will be a problem on that team.

Timo's contract is more likely to be a problem in 3 years than bratts.

 

[TheBeard]

Timo's contract is more likely to be a problem in 3 years than bratts.

If they sign both to an average of 8.5 per then they’re gonna have 6 guys making 6 or more and probably 7 if they want to lock up Dawson earlier rather than later.

 

[Forge]

If they sign both to an average of 8.5 per then they’re gonna have 6 guys making 6 or more and probably 7 if they want to lock up Dawson earlier rather than later.

Against the cap, yes, I agree.

I thought you were referring to how the contract would age and bratts play

 

[Play]

In three years a Bratt contract will be a problem on that team.

Says the guy who been saying Sabres will be a playoff team for 4 years

 

[themelkman]

It would be pretty funny if him or Timo just left. Both seem to be not very willing to negotiate

 

[Forge]

It would be pretty funny if him or Timo just left. Both seem to be not very willing to negotiate

They haven't even started negotiating with Timo yet. I'm a little more bullish on Timo signing than bratt

This bratt thing has been going on for years, so I can no longer say I'm surprised that he's dragging his heels again. You don't have this many poor negotiations and be shocked the third go round. He doesn't seem to have much interest sticking around.

I'm not really sure what would be funny about the bratt one .. That's been a slow burn towards this possible outcome. Timo leaving would be funny though

 

[TheBeard]

Says the guy who been saying Sabres will be a playoff team for 4 years

Me???

 

[yzerman]

6,5 mill a year max his is not worth more in the long run.

 

[MikeyMike01]

There's a bunch of star players who are going to be tempted to wait before re-upping for max term. The stickiness of the flat cap has one, maybe two years left in it, and then is poised to really jump.

Then again, I keep expecting NHL players to do what NBA stars do. In that league, they sign shorter deals (with optional outs) to increase their leverage, prioritizing choice, and taking advantage of rising caps every couple of years. Superstars, stars, and even iffy stars demand and earn the individual player max.

Yet NHL players never do it. NHL players are unusually motivated by long-term security compared to their peers in other sports. Could break either way, depending on how risk averse a given player is, I guess.

NBA players are more important to their team success on an individual level, giving them more leverage.

NBA players are less likely to be injured, making them open to more risk.

 

[Djp]

My guess is Devils are offering under Hughes’s 8m AAV and are hoping they can get Bratt to sign at ~9m AAV x 8 years ultimately. They can’t be surprised if he has no interest and wants to bet on himself yet again one year before the cap goes up what 10m-15m??

They need to be ready for that possibility and figure out what shorter term deals they can accept.

They might be owing some game theory stuff between Bratt and Meier. One is signed for 8 yrs, other is traded. If thry get both then watch for Hischier trade rumors to come around figuring Mercer can play a 2C role.

 

[dirtydanglez]

In three years a Bratt contract will be a problem on that team.

one the elcs are up for their young players it's a problem.

they can always trade him at the time but the devils would likely be locked in with their current core if that's the case. they have no way to address their softness. they are building the leafs 2.0.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

8 year deal after the playoffs he had? Very interested to see how much this will be...

 

[Nocashstyle]

In three years a Bratt contract will be a problem on that team.

In every thread you seem to be an expert on all things Devils!!

 

[BKarchitect]

I’d make Meier the priority and perhaps look at dealing Bratt for assets unless Bratt is willing to sign a team friendly deal in terms of AAV.

While neither covered themselves in glory in the playoffs, I find Bratt’s game to be pretty neutralized when the physical intensity of the playoffs gets ramped up. Reminds me of a forward version of Sammy Girard from a few years back when he had just an awesome regular season and was looking like a legitimate top pair defenseman at a young age with crazy good analytics and then the playoffs happened and he hasn’t been the same since.

Meier plays a much heavier game. He’s much more what the Devils need more of moving forward. His track record as a goal scorer is legit - not gonna read too much into a short post-deadline stint on a new team when he was also dealing with some injuries.

 

[HBK27]

They might be owing some game theory stuff between Bratt and Meier. One is signed for 8 yrs, other is traded. If thry get both then watch for Hischier trade rumors to come around figuring Mercer can play a 2C role.

Zero chance they'd entertain trading Hischier. He's the captain for a reason and will be part of this core for a long time.

one the elcs are up for their young players it's a problem.

they can always trade him at the time but the devils would likely be locked in with their current core if that's the case. they have no way to address their softness. they are building the leafs 2.0.

Hard to be Leafs 2.0 when Jack and Nico are already signed to below market value contracts and you have guys like Luke and Nemec coming in on ELC's. Leafs are largely defined by their big 4 signing massive contracts before Covid hit on the assumption that the cap would continue to go up by a lot during the duration of the deals. Not to mention, they only signed their young stars to 5-6 year deals versus max term and didn't have as much young talent in the pipeline like the Devils do.

Plus the Devils core has already won a playoff series.

 

[dirtydanglez]

Zero chance they'd entertain trading Hischier. He's the captain for a reason and will be part of this core for a long time.



Hard to be Leafs 2.0 when Jack and Nico are already signed to below market value contracts and you have guys like Luke and Nemec coming in on ELC's. Leafs are largely defined by their big 4 signing massive contracts before Covid hit on the assumption that the cap would continue to go up by a lot during the duration of the deals. Not to mention, they only signed their young stars to 5-6 year deals versus max term and didn't have as much young talent in the pipeline like the Devils do.

Plus the Devils core has already won a playoff series.

built like the leafs in the sense they are a very soft team built largely around regular seasons success. they are also both very top6 forward heavy and light on defense and goaltending. you are right that nj did much better on contracts

leafs did win a round this year, same as the devils. the results are the same but the leafs did put up more of a fight than the devils in the 2nd round, one goal games vs lopsided losses.