Confirmed with Link: Arbitration Avoided, Bratt Signs for 1 year, $5.45 million

[britdevil]

Something else you're neglecting to factor in with this "career earnings" line of thought is, ELC performance bonuses.

Keller and DeBrincat (2nd rd pick) had them in their contract. Bratt didn't.

I mean, Lou wouldn't even give Larsson max ELC bonuses and dude was drafted 4th overall and hyped as Hedman mk2.

EDIT:

Keller and DeBrincat's agents would have used ELC performance bonuses when negotiating their SIGNED ONE YEAR EARLY contract extensions on this basis. Agent leverage to maximise their clients short term earnings.

Bratt's agent uses microsoft paint on Windows XP for his website. I think it's pretty clear that this bozo has cost Bratt, big time.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

If there's someone to overpay on if necessary it's Bratt. The only UFA I'd really even be looking at is Pasta. I think he ultimately stays in Boston but if he's there I think you have to at least try. No more overpaying on the middle guys. Already f***ed up once there.

Agreed, Pasta is the only UFA I'd even look at next year. Meier and whoever becomes available via contract disputes, fingers crossed the latter doesn't apply to Bratt, should be the options for next offseason once we get there.

Something else you're neglecting to factor in with this "career earnings" line of thought is, ELC performance bonuses.

Keller and DeBrincat (2nd rd pick) had them in their contract. Bratt didn't.

I mean, Lou wouldn't even give Larsson max ELC bonuses and dude was drafted 4th overall and hyped as Hedman mk2.

EDIT:

Keller and DeBrincat's agents would have used ELC performance bonuses when negotiating their SIGNED ONE YEAR EARLY contract extensions on this basis. Agent leverage to maximise their clients short term earnings.

Bratt's agent uses microsoft paint on Windows XP for his website. I think it's pretty clear that this bozo has cost Bratt, big time.

I don't think Bratt's agent has done bad tbh, he got him a raise this year + even more leverage next year.

 

[britdevil]

Agreed, Pasta is the only UFA I'd even look at next year. Meier and whoever becomes available via contract disputes, fingers crossed the latter doesn't apply to Bratt, should be the options for next offseason once we get there.



I don't think Bratt's agent has done bad tbh, he got him a raise this year + even more leverage next year.

In the context of the conversation of Bratt and his draft peers regarding career earnings, he's done a shit job.

 

[My3Sons]

I agree with the poster who suggested that Bratt's best course of action is to extend for an additional three years with NJ after this season. He will get a big payday if he has another good year and he will then hit UFA at age 27 at which point he gets his seven or eight year deal. That maximizes his career earnings compared to playing one more year at an arbitration rate as an RFA and then getting one seven year deal that will carry him to 32 at which point he likely is not getting a big contract. You actually don't want to hit your UFA deal too soon since you probably only get one of them.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

In the context of the conversation of Bratt and his draft peers regarding career earnings, he's done a shit job.

If Bratt signs a 3 or 4 year deal then hits UFA at 27 or 28 if he doesn't re-sign with NJ, he arguably got Bratt the max career earnings. Bonuses are great but they're still a risk to the player with regards to injury/teammates.

 

[britdevil]

If Bratt signs a 3 or 4 year deal then hits UFA at 27 or 28 if he doesn't re-sign with NJ, he arguably got Bratt the max career earnings. Bonuses are great but they're still a risk to the player with regards to injury/teammates.

Again, the context was Keller, DeBrincat and Bratt. Draft peers and their career earnings to date.

To date, Bratt's agent has done a shit job.

I agree with the poster who suggested that Bratt's best course of action is to extend for an additional three years with NJ after this season. He will get a big payday if he has another good year and he will then hit UFA at age 27 at which point he gets his seven or eight year deal. That maximizes his career earnings compared to playing one more year at an arbitration rate as an RFA and then getting one seven year deal that will carry him to 32 at which point he likely is not getting a big contract. You actually don't want to hit your UFA deal too soon since you probably only get one of them.

To me, this is playing with fire.

Bratt could get flattened on opening night and miss the season.

I'm risk averse, you can probably tell.

 

[Saugus]

I actually do think bridges have been burned. I say that because even the one year agreement of 5.4 is a very small number for player that is coming off a 73 point season...it gets smaller when you look at what he was paid the previous two years.

And I don't think a "fair deal" is going to get it done now. Look if you feel like you've left 5 to 7 million dollars on the table over the last 3 years, do you think you are going to be in the mood for "fairness" in the 4th year? With UFA on the horizon?

No freaking way a fair deal gets Bratt signed this year. You are going to have to "Wow" him and even then he may want to see what he's worth on the open market depending on his results this season.

Assuming that Bratt puts up another similar year, that fair deal will be worth more than a fair deal would have been worth this season. Bratt is betting on himself that he will put up another monster year and force Fitz to pay him more on a long term deal that buys UFA years. I don't see anything too antagonistic there.

Yes, maybe there is jealousy about the treatment as compared to Hughes and Hischier, and maybe it's not fair that Bratt has to play on a bridge, show-me contract before he gets his bag. But ultimately Bratt is an RFA and has to work with the hand he is dealt, and this is how he's chosen to play it.

 

[JimEIV]

Assuming that Bratt puts up another similar year, that fair deal will be worth more than a fair deal would have been worth this season. Bratt is betting on himself that he will put up another monster year and force Fitz to pay him more on a long term deal that buys UFA years. I don't see anything too antagonistic there.

Yes, maybe there is jealousy about the treatment as compared to Hughes and Hischier, and maybe it's not fair that Bratt has to play on a bridge, show-me contract before he gets his bag. But ultimately Bratt is an RFA and has to work with the hand he is dealt, and this is how he's chosen to play it.

Wasn't Bratt "betting on himself when he took the 2 year deal prior to this one year deal? You can't use "betting on himself" for two straight contracts.

 

[My3Sons]

Again, the context was Keller, DeBrincat and Bratt. Draft peers and their career earnings to date.

To date, Bratt's agent has done a shit job.



To me, this is playing with fire.

Bratt could get flattened on opening night and miss the season.

I'm risk averse, you can probably tell.

You can say that Bratt's last two contracts have been him playing with fire. He sees himself as a top NHL player and until someone pays him like one he's going to keep betting on himself. Does he want to maximize his opportunity at career earnings or does he just want one big payday? If he has two more good seasons (say 75 points or so in each) he can probably get $8.25 mil to $8.75 mil per in a seven year deal. If he takes the three year extension next offseason he can probably get close to $8 mil per and then another deal of seven years and probably a bit higher than $9 mil per since the cap will rise by then. It's potentially a difference of about $20 million. That's a lot of commission even at whatever the agents get now (maybe 3%?).

 

[Saugus]

Wasn't Bratt "betting on himself when he took the 2 year deal prior to this one year deal? You can't use "betting on himself" for two straight contracts.

Why not? Bratt had a breakout season this past year, and based on that production and projection for the future, Fitz made him a middling offer for a long-term contract. It seems likely that Bratt wasn't happy with that, and wanted to be paid more over a contract that covers his UFA years. So they agreed on a one year deal to get him to RFA status again next year. If that is how it played out, then Bratt is indeed "betting on himself" again.

 

[britdevil]

You can say that Bratt's last two contracts have been him playing with fire. He sees himself as a top NHL player and until someone pays him like one he's going to keep betting on himself. Does he want to maximize his opportunity at career earnings or does he just want one big payday? If he has two more good seasons (say 75 points or so in each) he can probably get $8.25 mil to $8.75 mil per in a seven year deal. If he takes the three year extension next offseason he can probably get close to $8 mil per and then another deal of seven years and probably a bit higher than $9 mil per since the cap will rise by then. It's potentially a difference of about $20 million. That's a lot of commission even at whatever the agents get now (maybe 3%?).

I can see the logic.

I've also struck out at the casino more times than I'd like to admit. They are some pretty big ifs.

Whatever, if Bratt scores 75 points this season, it likely means we've had a good one. Fingers crossed.

 

[JimEIV]

Why not? Bratt had a breakout season this past year, and based on that production and projection for the future, Fitz made him a middling offer for a long-term contract. It seems likely that Bratt wasn't happy with that, and wanted to be paid more over a contract that covers his UFA years. So they agreed on a one year deal to get him to RFA status again next year. If that is how it played out, then Bratt is indeed "betting on himself" again.

He still hasn't been paid like he bet on himself...If you make a bet and win aren't supposed to get paid?

 

[britdevil]

He still hasn't been paid like he bet on himself...If you make a bet and win aren't supposed to get paid?

He got a guaranteed pay out. Bratt took the chips and doubled down.

 

[JimEIV]

He got a guaranteed pay out. Bratt took the chips and doubled down.

Doubled down against an Ace....Shoulda took insurance.

 

[Saugus]

He still hasn't been paid like he bet on himself...If you make a bet and win aren't supposed to get paid?

Incomplete analogy. If you defer the offered payout on your won bet because you wanted a bigger one, then there is little reason to complain.

Bratt is doubling down on his bet by waiting another year, rather than taking a long term deal that will lock him into a lower salary than he thinks he could have gotten in his UFA years.

 

[My3Sons]

He still hasn't been paid like he bet on himself...If you make a bet and win aren't supposed to get paid?

he agreed to the one year deal. He could have forced the arbitration if he thought he would get more. The bigger issue is what deal did he scoff at from NJ? At seven years and $6.5 mil per season I'd have expected a counter but I wouldn't expect him to say yes to that. If he turned down seven years and $53.5 mil that's sort of on him but we will never know.

 

[britdevil]

Doubled down against an Ace....Shoulda took insurance.

I’ve been there.

 

[JimEIV]

he agreed to the one year deal. He could have forced the arbitration if he thought he would get more. The bigger issue is what deal did he scoff at from NJ? At seven years and $6.5 mil per season I'd have expected a counter but I wouldn't expect him to say yes to that. If he turned down seven years and $53.5 mil that's sort of on him but we will never know.

What was arb going to do for him? The likely results was a split of the differences with hurt feelings and that is exactly what he got without a hearing.

Arbitration really offered nothing to Bratt. It's not like he would have been awarded 7 or 8 million when he was asking 6.5.

"The bigger issue is what deal did he scoff at from NJ? " Did NJ scoff at all? We know Fitz made an offer we don't know what Bratt wanted?


I would imagine the sticking point is 4 years. If Jack and Nico get to be UFA at 28 why doesn't Bratt? I would imagine that is the Bratt camp line of thinking?

 

[Hisch13r]

You can say that Bratt's last two contracts have been him playing with fire. He sees himself as a top NHL player and until someone pays him like one he's going to keep betting on himself. Does he want to maximize his opportunity at career earnings or does he just want one big payday? If he has two more good seasons (say 75 points or so in each) he can probably get $8.25 mil to $8.75 mil per in a seven year deal. If he takes the three year extension next offseason he can probably get close to $8 mil per and then another deal of seven years and probably a bit higher than $9 mil per since the cap will rise by then. It's potentially a difference of about $20 million. That's a lot of commission even at whatever the agents get now (maybe 3%?).

I can't see how it's 8 a year on a 3 year deal. Probably more like 6-6.5. If he's getting 8 a year it's over a long term deal not a short one

 

[Devils731]

Of course it does...While everyone in the entire league was getting "potential contracts", Jesper got f***ed. Somebody's got to make up for lost money...Either New Jersey or someone else.

You want to short change someone for 3 years then talk about a "fair deal"

No team cares about making up for past contracts.

Players know this to be true. No player is going “well I was overpaid the last 2 years, please let me take less than market value to make up for it”

 

[My3Sons]

What was arb going to do for him? The likely results was a split of the differences with hurt feelings and that is exactly what he got without a hearing.

Arbitration really offered nothing to Bratt. It's not like he would have been awarded 7 or 8 million when he was asking 6.5.

"The bigger issue is what deal did he scoff at from NJ? " Did NJ scoff at all? We know Fitz made an offer we don't know what Bratt wanted?


I would imagine the sticking point is 4 years. If Jack and Nico get to be UFA at 28 why doesn't Bratt? I would imagine that is the Bratt camp line of thinking?

Didn't Bratt ask for over $6 in arbitration? if he wanted his money go to the arbitration. Tell the arbitrator you deserve it show the comps and tell NJ to shove it. He settled for about $500k less? Not a huge amount for those guys but it would make a difference in the lives of most of the rest of us I imagine. NJ didn't scoff. Bratt apparently did. Whatever offer NJ made was so bad that Bratt didn't even bother to counter based on the reporting. Sorry if I was unclear about that point. I agree Bratt likely wants to be a UFA no later than 28 but that's an easy conversation to have in my view.

I can't see how it's 8 a year on a 3 year deal. Probably more like 6-6.5. If he's getting 8 a year it's over a long term deal not a short one

It depends to some extent on how he plays this season. A three year deal eats up two UFA years. What are they worth? Do you think he gets $7 mil per on his big UFA contract if he elects arbitration next season and then walks? I'm presuming he plays well next season. I could see a year at say $6.5 and then two at $8.5. The math is maybe a three year deal at a bit under $8 mil per?

 

[britdevil]

If Bratt wants UFA at 28, get that deal done. We'll have had his prime years and we can part ways as he sails off to the sunshine states.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

He didn't do bad except for years. He believes in himself and expects to improve, and his improvement will drive next season's $$$ up. His agent did a good job for him if the long term goal is to max dollars. The gamble is not having a bad season.

And hopefully Patrick Allvin pays Jesper all the money the fans here think he deserves.

 

[MadDevil]

Of course it does...While everyone in the entire league was getting "potential contracts", Jesper got f***ed. Somebody's got to make up for lost money...Either New Jersey or someone else.

You want to short change someone for 3 years then talk about a "fair deal"

To quote you from January 2021...

"Imagine never producing more than 35 points in a season, being a healthy scratch as recently as February 2020 and trying to demand the conditions of your first contract in a league that has for all intents and purposes has frozen salaries....strange times for sure."

But now he got f***ed?

 

[Jersey Fresh]

To quote you from January 2021...

"Imagine never producing more than 35 points in a season, being a healthy scratch as recently as February 2020 and trying to demand the conditions of your first contract in a league that has for all intents and purposes has frozen salaries....strange times for sure."

But now he got f***ed?