Carolina Hurricanes’ Brett Pesce out 2-4 weeks with lower-body injury

The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Wednesday afternoon that defenseman Brett Pesce will be out for 2-4 weeks with a lower-body injury after undergoing surgery.

Pesce, 28, last played for the Hurricanes last Thursday during their game against the Seattle Kraken. It’s unclear as to whether or not the injury occurred during the game, as he played the entirety of the game, including the final 29 seconds of the third period. He finished the game with just a shot on goal in 19:37 of ice time as the Kraken would go on to beat the Hurricanes 7-4.

Pesce currently has a goal and an assist for two points in five games this season, and is looking to build upon his career year in 2022-23 where he had 30 points in 82 games. However, he’s known more for his playdriving skills, something that’s been a bit more middling so far this season with just a 50.33% 5v5 expected goal share.

So far Jalen Chatfield has replaced Pesce in the lineup in the past couple games, while Brady Skjei, Pesce’s partner on the second pair, has seen Chatfield and Dmitry Orlov on his pair so far in the two games since Pesce’s injury. Tony DeAngelo appears to be Skjei’s projected partner for this Thursday’s game against the Kraken, a paring that has a 7.14% 5v5 expected goal share in 6:49 of ice-time so far.

Pesce was a third-round pick for the Hurricanes in the 2013 draft, and has spent the entirety of his nine-season NHL career in Carolina. He’s currently in the final year of a six-year contract with a $4.025 million cap hit, one he signed with the Canes in the 2017 offseason, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the 2024 offseason.

The Pesce injury has certainly hurt the Hurricanes so far, as they’ve lost both games in his absence and find themselves on a three-game losing streak overall. They currently sit in fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-4-0 record.