Devils Sign Stafford; Bratt Out For Season Opener

The Devils have come to terms with right winger Drew Stafford today. He will receive a one-year, one-way contract worth $810,000. He had been in training camp on a professional tryout (PTO) agreement.

The 32-year-old Milwaukee, Wisconsin native fired home eight goals and had seven assists (15 points) for the Devils last season over 59 games with the club. He also played in two playoff games against Tampa Bay.

He was drafted 13th overall in the first round of the 2004 Draft by the Sabres. He played parts of nine seasons in Buffalo before being traded to Winnipeg in 2015. He was actually dealt to the Jets along with Tyler Myers, Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux (Claude’s son) for Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian and Jason Kasdorf. He was then traded at the 2017 trading deadline to Boston. He signed as a free agent with the Devils in August of 2017.

So Drew Stafford will be back in the fold come opening night for the Devils but Jesper Bratt will not.

According to an article on the Devils’ official site written by Amanda Stein, Bratt will miss the opener in his home country of Sweden due to a fractured jaw. He suffered the fracture on Thursday during practice in what Stein called a “freak accident.”

Stein quoted John Hynes as saying “He has a fracture, and no surgery is needed so that’s good news. He should be able to continue his physical activity over the course of (rehab) and he’ll be back ready to go when the time comes.”

According to Stein, Bratt will be placed on injured reserve and “his expected recovery time set at two to three weeks.”

Stein also said that Stafford was used “as an extra forward in practice on Friday” meaning he may or may not play in the opener on Saturday.

The Devils held an open practice at the Scandinavium today (Friday) as the Swedish fans were able to watch the Devils get set to take on the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *