Let's talk Brett Pesce

The New Jersey Devils have been linked to the 29-year-old defensive ace.

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New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald made it clear he was looking ‘for something’ on defense this summer.

The recent departure of Kevin Bahl no doubt further increased his appetite to add on the backend.

While most assumed Fitzgerald would be looking for help on the left side – the Devils are weaker there in terms of top talent and depth – it appears Fitzgerald may have other ideas.

There is a lot of noise surrounding Brett Pesce and the Devils. The pending unrestricted free agent is expected to walk away from the Carolina Hurricanes next week and rumor has it he could sign a lucrative contract with the Devils.

The Devils already look to be in good shape on the right side of their defense. They have a play-driving offensive star in Dougie Hamilton. They have one of the better young blueliners in the sport in Simon Nemec. And they have John Marino, who has spent the past handful of years playing top-4 minutes and is still only 27.

So why the interest in Pesce? Plenty of reasons come to mind.

Hamilton’s calling card is offense and Nemec only turned 20 a few months ago. It’s possible – if not likely – the Devils want Hamilton playing mid-tier minutes he can crater the opponent in while also lessening the ask of Nemec.

That means they’d want a defensive ace, so to speak, to chew up a ton of difficult minutes and make life easier on the other two. And Pesce is more than capable of being just that.