Carolina Hurricanes sign Brett Pesce to six-year deal
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed 22-year-old defenseman Brett Pesce to a six-year deal. This new deal will see Pesce make $4.025 million per season, making him the second highest paid defenseman on the Carolina roster.
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed 22-year-old defenseman Brett Pesce to a new six-year deal. This deal will pay Pesce $4.025 million per season, making him the second highest paid defenseman on the roster to only Justin Faulk ($4.83 million).
Pesce proved that he was a solid defenseman for the Hurricanes this season, posting two goals and 18 assists. Pesce spent most of his time paired on the blue line with Jacob Slavin, also spending a bit of time with Noah Hanifin and even less time with Ron Hainsey.
[NEWS] #Canes, @brettpesce22 Agree to Six-Year Extension #Redvolution
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) August 1, 2017
Details: https://t.co/QZclSsAszd pic.twitter.com/YL7NBOVQr2
Pesce showed great leaps of development over the 2016-17 season, and because of this he is widely believed to now be a top four defenseman. The Hurricanes management also agree with this assessment.
Ron Francis, executive vice president and general manager of Carolina had this to say about the deal.
“Brett took another big step forward last season,” said Francis in the release. “He plays a smart defensive game and has good ability to move the puck and contribute offensively. We plan for him to be a part of the Hurricanes’ defensive corps for a long time.”
The case for Pesce doesn’t stop at his ice time and what the management thinks of him either, as some important analytics point to his effectiveness for Carolina. Pesce posted a 4.01 Relative Corsi-For percentage last season, third to only Teuvo Teravainen (5.20) and Jordan Staal (6.49)
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This six-year deal for Pesce also doesn’t hurt the cap space picture for Carolina. Before the deal was taken into effect the Hurricanes had $17.2 million in cap space. This deal will take that number down to $14 million with no remaining free agents currently on their roster. This will allow Carolina to venture into free agency, and possibly even into the trade market.