Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable
Report: Maple Leafs Expected to Pursue Hurricanes’ Pending Free Agent Brett Pesce If He Reaches Open Market
Pesce has spent all nine seasons in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Despite NHL free agency still a few weeks away, that hasn’t prevented the chatter and speculation from intensifying.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, plenty of uncertainty is ahead regarding their own free agents, but an abundance of replacements to make improvements is creeping right around the corner. One player in particular is veteran defenseman Brett Pesce, who is widely considered a top commodity on the market and has been the topic of discussion as of late.
Pesce, a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) of the Carolina Hurricanes, is set to hit the open market on July 1. As reported by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, the Leafs are expected to pursue the right-handed blueliner if he becomes available.
“Circling back to Pesce, he will be a player both Nashville and Toronto pursue if he’s available July 1,” said Pagnotta. “Clearly, there will be other potential suitors, but the Predators and Maple Leafs will go after him if they can.”
Although the Hurricanes have an interest in bringing back the player they drafted in 2013, it seems he could be on his way out the door in search of a deal that will earn him more than the team can offer. Coming off a six-year $24.15 million contract carrying an average annual value of $4.25 million per season, Pesce will likely earn upwards of $5-6 million when considering other deals given in 2023 and the value he has heading into the open market as a right-handed penalty-killing defenseman.
In terms of the Leafs, Pesce would be a great fit to be paired with Morgan Rielly on the team’s top pairing – a partner that would be more than a rental inserted somewhere in their top four on the right side. Stability and experience on the backend have become a necessity for general manager Brad Treliving to address in the offseason, and Pesce fits the description.
If looking to make a splash, Pesce would do the trick and provide steadiness on the right side for a manageable price given the Leafs’ $19.3 million in cap room according to Puckpedia.com.
Pesce has averaged over 20 minutes per game for eight consecutive seasons. Over his nine years of experience, he’s scored 44 goals and added 175 assists for a total of 219 points across 684 games in the regular season and postseason for the Hurricanes.
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