New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Bratt has taken the crown as the NHL’s most under-appreciated player. Through 78 appearances this season, the 26-year-old Swede has racked up 88 points, putting him in the Top 10 in the Art Ross Trophy race.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton outlined the value that Bratt brings to the Devils and why the skilled forward is so underrated.
Tyler Yaremchuk: A guy like Bratt, and credit to the Devils who have locked him up to a long-term deal, he’s making under $8 million through 2031. He’s always kind of been second fiddle in New Jersey, even third because there is Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. This year, with Hughes missing a lot of time once again, you look at Bratt and he has back-to-back 80-point seasons. This year, he’s going to step into that 90-plus point range. He just kind of gets forgotten about a little bit. He produces a ton. You look at his last four years and he has 73, 73, 83, and 88 points. I don’t think this is a player who you can sit and look at anymore and go, ‘Well, he just benefits from playing with Hischier or Hughes’ or ‘It was just a good year or two, and he’ll plateau off.’ He’s continuing to take steps forward and I think he might be taking the mantel of being the most under-appreciated player in the league.
Carter Hutton: I agree with you completely. I think the fact of the matter is that when we think of the Devils, we think about Hughes and Hischier and the different players that go with it. But, Bratt hasn’t had that supporting cast necessarily during this run. He is a guy who is an independent thinker and he makes great plays out there. His creativity in the offensive zone is undeniable. I think he’s finding more of a well-rounded game. I don’t know if that’s because of Sheldon Keefe or because of what Tom Fitzgerald has built there, but he seems like a deeper player. Earlier in his career, I didn’t like the way he played in the defensive zone, and I spent a lot of time playing against him. He was always great offensively where he had that waterbug mentality where you couldn’t hit him and he was always creating. Now he has settled in to where he needs to be. I don’t like the Devils coming into the playoffs because I think they’re limping in, but that being said, I think Bratt has done well and that’s a great signing now when you look at the numbers he’s putting up, and I don’t see that stopping. I see him continuing to produce as the Devils get healthy moving forward.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here:
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