NHL rumors: Brett Pesce would be a great signing for Devils at the right price

The New Jersey Devils made one of the big moves of the offseason so far in trading for Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom. With the goalie position set, GM Tom Fitzgerald appears to be looking to add defensive depth in free agency in July. Rumors have Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce heading to New Jersey. There’s still the 2024 NHL Draft this week and the Devils have the No. 10 pick. That could be dealt in another move to add forward or defensive depth. Here we’ll focus on Pesce and what the right deal should look like.

NHL free agent rumors: Brett Pesce to Devils

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet initially linked Pesce to the Devils and since then we’ve seen more rumors swirling. If the rumors are true, Pesce is a great add for New Jersey, which desperately needs a few stay-at-home type of defensemen. The Devils traded Kevin Bahl to the Flames as part of the Markstrom deal. Bahl had shown flashes of being that type of player but is young and regressed in 2023-24. Brendan Smith spent most of this past season doing a poor job as the “defensive” defenseman for the Devils.

The rest of the defense should be made up of Dougie Hamilton, John Marino, Jonas Siegenthaler, Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec and possibly rookie Seamus Casey. That group would feature Hamilton, who is coming off major injury after missing most of 2023-24. Marino and Siegenthaler, both coming off miserable seasons. Then, three 20 year olds. Hughes, Nemec and Casey could very well make up a very, very good defensive core for the Devils. It may not be for another 4-5 seasons, though. Can the Devils wait for all three to reach their potential? Can New Jersey bank on Hamilton, Marino and Siegs all bouncing back? The answer to those two questions is likely no.

Pesce doesn’t provide much offense through pure points but rather through his ability to make sound plays. As of April, per The Athletic’s Player Cards via Dom Luszczyszyn and Shayna Goldman, Pesce has a net rating of +1 overall and +2 on defense. He’s in the 75th percentile in xGoals and 95th percentile in penalty killing, something the Devils need badly. Every Devils defenseman in 2023-24 had a negative defensive rating per these player cards. Pesce would have been the most valuable defenseman for New Jersey.

While Pesce would be a fantastic add for the Devils, it has to be on the right contract and for the right price. Daily Faceoff has Pesce projected to make $6.7 million per season on a six-year deal. The Athletic has Pesce’s market value at around $4.2 million, in line with what he was making on his previous contract for Carolina. We should see his next contract settle somewhere in between. That would mean Pesce should get a contract for 4-5 years at around $5.5 million per season. At least that would be viewed as decent market value.

Ideally, the Devils get Pesce for four or fewer seasons at around $5 million per season. That would align nicely with the window to compete with most of this core, particularly on defense. Siengethaler and Hamilton are signed for four seasons. Marino has three years remaining. The Devils can phase out that defensive core along with Pesce and have Hughes, Nemec and Casey all ready to go on new contract in what should be their primes in their mid-20s.

But if the Devils sign Pesce and another defenseman in free agency, it could block Casey from coming up. It may mean the Devils will need to trade on of Nemec or Casey, assuming Luke Hughes is untouchable. It also could mean Fitz may be looking to shop Siegenthaler or Marino. Hamilton’s contract feels bloated and tough to move. There also may be a bit of a cap crunch if the Devils keep most of their players right now. Dawson Mercer needs a new deal. Alexander Holtz will need a bridge of sorts. Luke Hughes and Nemec would need long-term extensions. So there are a lot of moving parts if Pesce is to be signed.

The other thing with Pesce is he’s going to turn 30 years old in November. Pesce has been pretty durable throughout his career but wasn’t able to finish the first round vs. the New York Islanders this postseason due to a fractured fibula. He’d be fine by the start of training camp you would think but has played 627 NHL regular-season games and another 57 playoff games for the ‘Canes. Any deal for Pesce may not be bad in the short term but by the time he’s in his mid-30s, it could look bad. The Devils would really need to take advantage of those first few seasons with Pesce before he could regress. There’s also risk of the injuries beginning to pile up and the deal being a bust. You’d hope that isn’t the case, of course, but it’s a possibility.

My Thoughts

The Devils need Pesce. He’d be a great add but there are enough question marks to be a bit concerned. Ideally, the contract is for 3-4 seasons and at around $5-6 million but the market for a defenseman of Pesce’s caliber should be competitive. Pesce is a native of Tarrytown, New York, and played amateur youth hockey in New Jersey. So a homecoming of sorts could help drive the price down a bit. We see this a lot with players wanting to play for a specific team or area and taking less money. If this is the case, it would be a real coup for Fitzgerald. Age and injury concerns aside, Pesce is exactly what New Jersey needs to stabilize the blue line. If his deal is closer to the six-year contract worth nearly $7 million per season, that doesn’t make me feel great. The cap should go up and make the contract look better so long as Pesce can stay healthy and productive.