- Brett Pesce says he is back to 100 percent after an injury-wrecked season
- The Devils defenseman played 28 games with a finger that had to be reconstructed
- Read below for what Pesce said about his MCL sprain and his summer of training
Brett Pesce is healthy again.
The New Jersey Devils defenseman was the first player through the door at Sacred Heart University’s Martire Family Arena on Thursday night for the fourth annual Shoulder Check Showcase, and he told The Hockey News he is back to 100 percent after a 2025-26 season that held him to 37 games.
That trouble started in October against Colorado, when an upper-body injury kept him out until mid-December. Pesce finally spelled out what it actually was.
“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.”
He played 28 games that way.
His season ended on a March 3 hit against the Panthers, and Pesce confirmed the lower-body injury was an MCL sprain. He finished that game anyway, logging 22:04 and leading every New Jersey skater with three blocked shots.
Brenden Dillon summed up his partner’s year back in April.
“Injuries are just so tough and he wore it this year. Block shot, and he is out for two months. Then he comes back and is dealing with something else. He just tries to play through everything. Even when he got hurt at the end of the year, he finished the game.”
Pesce was asked whether he could have gotten back in the lineup before the year ran out.
“I was just about ready to come back, but obviously we missed the playoffs, so there was no point on rushing back.”
Neither injury cost him any offseason work. Devils veterans report to Prudential Center on Sept. 16.
Thursday’s game was secondary. Pesce stood in front of a row of cameras for six minutes talking about why the event exists, an #HT40 initiative honoring Hayden Thorsen, a 16-year-old goalie from the tri-state area who died by suicide in 2022.
“We are here because of mental awareness. Just checking in on someone next to you, even if you are not close to them and seeing how they are doing. You never really know how someone is doing mentally. Checking in and reaching out if anyone needs help is the focus of tonight’s game.”
Take a look at the vlog from Fairfield, featuring Pesce, Trevor Zegras and Matt Rempe:
Roughly 2,500 people packed the building for the showcase’s first NHL Network broadcast, and Ryan Leonard’s goal drew one of the bigger reactions of the night.
Here’s how the organizers wrapped up year four:
New Jersey gets its steadiest shutdown defenseman back with four years and a $5.5 million cap hit still on the deal.
