Devils’ Brett Pesce expected to miss a month with upper-body injury
The New Jersey Devils will be without one of their best defensemen for a while, as team reporter Amanda Stein shared an update that Brett Pesce is expected to be out for about a month with what head coach Sheldon Keefe referred to as an upper-body injury.
Pesce, who was signed as a free agent last off-season to bolster New Jersey’s blue line, has brought his trademark steady defensive play to the Devils since his arrival. To this point in the season, he has three assists and a plus-three rating.
Update on Brett Pesce is that he is expected to miss at least a month.#NJDevils HC Sheldon Keefe said post-game on Sunday that it’s an upper body injury.
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) October 28, 2025Pesce left the team’s 4-3 overtime win over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday early after logging just 6:07 of time on ice.
The Devils are scorching hot to start the season, as they’ve rattled off eight wins in a row since dropping their Opening Night contest on the road at Carolina. Of those eight wins, only Sunday’s against Colorado required overtime.
New Jersey’s 8-1-0 mark has them sitting atop the NHL standings with Pittsburgh and Carolina chasing them in the Metropolitan Division.
With Pesce absent from the defense, lauded prospect Simon Nemec will get a real crack at top-four minutes alongside Jonas Siegenthaler on the second pairing. Luke Hughes and Dougie Hamilton will continue on as the top pairing, while Seamus Casey will draw into the lineup on the bottom pairing, teaming up with Brenden Dillon.
The Devils are back in action on Tuesday night as they embark on a long Western road trip. On Tuesday night, they’ll play their return game in Denver against the Avalanche in a 9:00 PM EST puck drop. The game is one of the top matchups Tuesday night, which marks the league’s annual Frozen Frenzy event that sees all 32 teams in action in games with staggered start times that ensure that fans will be able to catch live hockey all evening and night.