Devils' Bratt Was Team MVP in 2023-24

Not only was Jesper Bratt the New Jersey Devils' team MVP in 2023-24, but he was also one of the most valuable forwards league-wide

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The New Jersey Devils' 2023-24 season was a disappointment. There's no question about that, but even then, there were some bright spots. One of those was Jesper Bratt, who hit a career-high 83 points in 82 games. Not only was he the Devils' team MVP, but he was also one of the most valuable forwards league-wide. Let's look back on his 2023-24 campaign. 

Bratt Was One of the Best Facilitators in the NHL

With Dougie Hamilton missing most of the season and Jack Hughes not 100 percent healthy for a good chunk of it, the Devils had to rely on other players to create offense and drive play. At the forefront of that was Bratt, who also set a career-high in assists (56). 

Bratt has been one of the Devils' best five-on-five drivers for the last few seasons, and 2023-24 was no different. He finished the season with an expected goals share (xG%) of 56.56 percent, ranked third on the team for skaters with at least 100 minutes logged.

The Devils averaged 3.42 expected goals per 60 minutes with Bratt on the ice, so they were generating a ton of quality looks in his minutes. His numbers did dip after the organization fired Lindy Ruff and replaced him with Travis Green, but I don't think that's a real indication of how Bratt played. 

When looking at his microstats for this season, he was one of the best playmakers in the entire NHL. Bratt ranked in the 99th percentile in primary assists, 93 percentile in chance assists, and 95th percentile in primary shot assists.

Bratt was also incredibly efficient off the rush, ranking in the 100th percentile in rush offense, 99th percentile in rush shot assists, and 97th percentile in rush shots. His in-zone offense does need to improve a bit, but it's hard to complain about the rest of his results:

Via JFresh Hockey, microstats tracked by Corey Sznjader via his A3Z project

The Devils do need to diversify their offense next season, so that might help Bratt's in-zone offense improve. But whoever is the team's next head coach will have to continue to let Bratt thrive off the rush. That's what makes him the player he is and why he was one of the most valuable forwards in the league this past season.