Brett Pesce’s health should be critical to the New Jersey Devils’ success in 2026-27. The right-handed defenseman was supposed to help stabilize a young defense corps, particularly when partnering with Luke Hughes.
The former Carolina defensive stalwart played only 37 games last season, with mixed results amid an injury-riddled campaign. Now fully healthy, Devils’ management is hoping Pesce can deliver on the promise of a free-agent contract he signed two summers ago under a different front office. As a result, Brett Pesce’s health will play a critical role for a Devils team focused on improving depth this offseason.
Pesce discussed his injury with Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News, revealing just how damaged his finger was last season.
“It was a really bad injury. They kind of had to reconstruct my finger, so I knew it was going to take a while. I couldn’t really move my finger, so my whole hand was kind of messed up. Obviously, I played through it all year.”
The Devils are expected to move to a three-goalie tandem, making it critical that Pesce and the Devils’ up-and-down blue line find health and consistency.
Brett Pesce’s Role in New Jersey
The former New Jersey youth hockey player was a crucial piece in New Jersey’s playoff run in 2024-25. Altogether, Pesce led the team in ATOI with 18:07 per game in his first season. The Devils were underwater in actual goals, but net positive in possession metrics with Pesce on the ice. Further, Pesce was a critical penalty killer for the Devils, averaging 2:10 per game with the second-best penalty-killing unit in the NHL. Though he missed 10 games in 2024-25, Brett Pesce’s health helped New Jersey do enough to get into the postseason.
That changed last year. Doctors had to perform surgery on Pesce’s finger, which cost him significant playing time. A late-season MCL sprain added to the tally, ultimately resulting in 45 missed regular-season games. The Devils missed the playoffs. New Jersey missed Pesce.
Ultimately, Brett Pesce’s health cost the Devils last season. Though not the only piece of the puzzle, missing Pesce for 45 games was part of the reason New Jersey fell from third to seventh in the Metropolitan Division.
Brett Pesce’s Health Impacted Luke Hughes Last Season
Pesce and Luke Hughes spent nearly 945 minutes together in 2024-25. That pair earned a 53.1 expected goals rate (MoneyPuck). Ultimately, they were outscored 38-31 at five-on-five, but Pesce provided a critical role as the steady partner for the player the Devils hope will be their franchise defenseman.
Hughes has been the subject of criticism, fair or otherwise, early in his career. That type of pressure can be common for a top pick, especially one who has been labeled as the potential best player in his draft class. It also doesn’t help being in the shadow of his eldest brother Quinn, potentially the best defenseman on the planet.
2025-26 was, at times, a struggle for Hughes without his favorite partner, as a result of Brett Pesce’s health. He bounced around with multiple partners. He ultimately played 377 minutes with Brett Pesce, 263 minutes with Brendan Dillon, 234 minutes with Jonathan Kovacevic and 231 minutes with Simon Nemec. Those pairs put up the following numbers:
- Hughes-Pesce: 54.7% xG, 2.98 xGF/60, 2.47 xGA/60
- Hughes-Dillon: 45.8% xG, 2.21 xGF/60, 2.62 xGA/60
- Hughes-Kovacevic: 56.2% xG, 3.02 xGF/60, 2.36 xGA/60
- Hughes-Nemec: 46.3% xG, 2.74 xGF/60, 3.19 xGA/60
The Devils tended to control the rate of play when Hughes played with Pesce and Kovacevic. The advanced metrics liked Hughes less with Dillon and Nemec. In terms of actual goals:
- Hughes-Dillon: 5-14 GF-GA, 1.14 GF/60, GA/60
- Hughes-Pesce: 10-11 GF-GA, 1.59 GF/60, GA/60
- Hughes-Kovacevic: 10-5 GF-GA, 2.56 GF/60, 1.28 GA/60
- Hughes-Nemec: 14-14 GF-GA, 3.63 GF/60, 3.63 GA/60
In short, Hughes probably hasn’t developed as quickly as fans would have hoped. It certainly didn’t help that he essentially bounced between four different partners last season. Brett Pesce’s health should play a major role in Luke Hughes taking a step in the right direction this season.
New Jersey’s Problems in 2025-26
The Devils had no shortage of issues last season. They couldn’t stay healthy, and the depth struggled to pick up the slack. New general manager Sunny Mehta is hoping resilient winger Anthony Mantha can help in that regard. Defensively, they weren’t as good. Now they’re hoping it all comes back together: Brett Pesce’s health, Jack Hughes’ health, Luke Hughes’ progress, team depth and goaltending.
In 2024-25, New Jersey, anchored by Brett Pesce, rode a very solid five-on-five defense to a playoff berth, ultimately losing in the first round to Carolina. The Devils were top 10 in multiple possession categories, per Natural Stat Trick:
- Goals Against/60: 11th
- Expected Goals Against/60: 9th
- Corsi Against/60: 7th
- Shots Against/60: 7th
- Scoring Changes Against/60: 8th
- High Danger Changes Against/60: 10th
In 2025-26, the Devils were much worse at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
- Goals Against/60: 24th
- Expected Goals Against/60: 15th
- Corsi Against/60: 11th
- Shots Against/60: 15th
- Scoring Changes Against/60: 16th
- High Danger Changes Against/60: 16th
Combined with the declining play of Jacob Markstrom in net, the Devils wound up minus-47 in goal differential at five-on-five. That put a team with playoff aspirations in the same company as lottery teams like Chicago (minus-47).
Injuries were a huge problem for New Jersey in 2025-26. To find success for a fanbase desperate to see their star players carry them to a deep run, Brett Pesce’s health is at least one important piece of next season.
New Jersey Devils Need Healthy Brett Pesce on Defense in 2026-27