What Carolina Hurricanes’ Brett Pesce says about all the trade rumors about him
Brett Pesce of the Carolina Hurricanes had a very memorable summer.
Pesce, 28, was married. The wedding was held July 22. It was a big to-do in Connecticut and a good time was had by all, including a few of Pesce’s teammates.
“Some of the boys came and it was a big party,” a smiling Pesce said Friday.
Let’s see, did anything else happen over the summer months?
Pesce was mentioned in every trade rumor imaginable, it seemed. The defenseman is entering the final year of his contract with the Hurricanes, negotiations were going slowly, the Canes kept adding D-men and the speculation built that Pesce might be moved.
But here we are, a few days away from the start of preseason training camp, and Pesce is still with the Hurricanes. He has been a regular at the captain’s skates – the informal workouts – at Invisalign Arena, the Canes’ practice facility.
All appears normal. For now.
“All of that is out of my control to a certain extent,” Pesce said in an N&O interview. “I was hoping and praying I would be here and thankful I still am.”
Pesce changed agents this summer, going to Judd Moldaver of Wasserman Hockey, saying it was “nothing personal” with his old agent and more that he wanted a “fresh start and a new face.” He also said he wasn’t checking in every day or every other day on how things stood.
“I kind of left it alone for a while,” he said. “Honestly, I kind of wanted to stay out of it and just focus on my training. I planned to be here the whole time and thankfully I’m still here.”
Not that Pesce wasn’t aware of the trade rumors.
“Obviously, I’m not living under a rock,” he said, smiling again. “I had an idea.”
There was talk the Canes might be pursuing forward Vladimir Tarasenko, possibly defenseman Erik Karlsson, the 2023 Norris Trophy winner. The influx of defensemen – the Canes adding free agents Dmitry Orlov and Tony DeAngelo – further fueled the offseason trade speculation.
“It’s an unfortunate part of the business sometimes, but I just tried to focus on getting stronger and better,” Pesce said.
Pesce wants to raise the Stanley Cup one day – with the Carolina Hurricanes. He was drafted by the Canes. He has only played for the Canes. He has helped the Canes become a Stanley Cup contender under head coach Rod Brind’Amour.
Pesce has been with the Canes through good times and bad, played through injuries, always been tough and dependable. Brind’Amour often talks about being a “true Hurricane.” That’s Pesce.
“Obviously, this is where I want to be, where I call home,” Pesce said.
One of Pesce’s good friends, Justin Faulk, said many of the same things a few years ago. The defenseman was drafted and developed by the Hurricanes. He, too, became a fixture in the lineup.
But entering the final year of his contract, and with extension talks stalled, Faulk was traded to the St. Louis Blues. He then signed a seven-year extension with the Blues with an average payoff of $6.5 million.
Faulk, then 27, had played 559 games in eight seasons with the Hurricanes. Pesce has played 557 regular-season games in his eight NHL seasons.
“Anything can happen,” Pesce said. “I just try not to think about that side of it.”
Pesce signed a six-year extension with the Canes in August 2017 that has paid him an average of $4.025 million a year. Former general manager Ron Francis said at the time that Pesce, then 22, would be a “part of the Hurricanes’ defensive corps for a long time.”
Pesce, one of the Canes’ most popular players, wants that time to continue. He said he has gotten no recent feedback from management since returning to Raleigh but has no complaints about it.
“I’m just eager to get out there and play,” Pesce said. “It’s been a long wait this summer and I’m ready to get camp going.”
Canes set training camp schedule
The Hurricanes will hold the first on-ice session of preseason training camp Thursday, Sept. 21, at 9 a.m. in PNC Arena.
The camp sessions will be held at PNC Arena and Invisalign Arena in Morrisville. The skates at Invisalign will be open to the public.
The Canes will begin their preseason schedule Tuesday, Sept. 26, against Tampa Bay at PNC Arena.
