The news isn’t good for the Carolina Hurricanes. On Wednesday, head coach Rod Brind’Amour revealed that star defenseman Brett Pesce is expected to miss significant time with a lower-body injury.
“Bad news. I was hoping he’d be a day or two away, but that’s definitely not the case,” Brind’Amour said on Wednesday, per Walt Ruff.
“Way more than that,” he added when asked about a week-to-week timeline for his return.
“It’s not good.”
Pesce has been out since Oct. 19 and managed to post a goal and two points in five games with the Hurricanes this season. He is a pending unrestricted free agent, carrying a cap hit of $4.025 million on his expiring contract. Last year with the Canes, the blue liner did not miss a single game and had five goals and 30 points. He added two goals and six points in 15 playoff contest.
What a blow to Brind’Amour and the Hurricanes…
LATEST UPDATE:
Later on Wednesday, the Hurricanes shared this official update on the status of Pesce on the team's social media, which was much less severe than what Brind’Amour alluded to earlier today:
"Brett Pesce had surgery on Tuesday to correct a lower-body injury. He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks."
The Hurricanes are 3-4 to start the season. Acquired over the summer, Dmitry Orlov will most likely be the one stepping up into Pesce’s role on the second pair during his absence. The Canes are lucky to have good depth on the back end, though replacing Pesce sounds tough no matter how you look at it.
This will be an important test for the Hurricanes early in the season where they will look to be a top contender once again.
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