Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce is expected to miss two to four weeks after undergoing surgery on Tuesday for a lower-body injury, the Hurricanes announced Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what you need to know.
- Earlier on Wednesday, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said news on Pesce’s injury was not good and that his timetable to return was “way more than week to week.”
- Pesce missed the Hurricanes’ last two games versus the Colorado Avalanche (a 6-4 loss) and Tampa Bay Lightning (a 3-0 loss).
- The 28-year-old veteran defenseman has one goal and one assist through five games in his ninth season with the Hurricanes.
- The Hurricanes are 3-4 to start the season.
Brett Pesce had surgery on Tuesday to correct a lower-body injury. He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks.
— Hurricanes PR (@CanesPR) October 25, 2023
How will this impact the Hurricanes?
Losing Pesce for any amount of time is going to hurt the Hurricanes. He’s a mainstay in the top four alongside Brady Skjei and can help shoulder the burden of going up against top competition with the top pair of Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns. Dmitry Orlov is more than capable of stepping up into that role on the second pair, which is a testament to Carolina’s defensive depth. But it weakens the third pair (which now will be Tony DeAngelo and Jalen Chatfield) and forces the coaches to shelter that bottom duo much more.
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Through seven games, the Hurricanes are a top-five team in shots and expected goals against. That’s something that could easily take a hit without Pesce in the fold. The problem is that this team has been allowing more goals than expected in the early goings of the season at even strength and in all situations, per Evolving Hockey. Carolina’s conceded 4.49 goals per 60 in all situations, which is the highest in the league. So losing the defensive support and stability the team knows they can lean on Pesce for may expose the goaltending even more. The bright side is that Frederik Andersen is close to returning and may even play against Seattle tomorrow.
The Pesce injury will be an important test for the Hurricanes. Not only does this team boast a deep blue line, but an incredibly strong system that has a knack for maximizing each player. With uncertainty around the defender’s future in Carolina, the Hurricanes will get a preview of how this team can hold up without his presence over the next few weeks. — Shayna Goldman, NHL writer
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(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
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