The Moment Over the Milestone | FEATURE 

Asking a player about a 700-game milestone can feel a little odd. It’s just another round number, a roll into the next hundred. The real benchmark, if you’re fortunate enough to get there, is 1000.

But when it comes to Brett Pesce, this Game 700, this milestone, has an added layer. He returns to the only other arena he’s ever called home as a player: Carolina. Hockey stories have a way of writing themselves, and this one is no different. Pesce was held off the ice for the Devils' final game of the 2024-25 regular season, leaving him having played 699 regular-season games heading into this season, unknowingly setting the stage for this full-circle moment.

Make no mistake: Carolina, where he spent nine seasons, will always be part of his story, but New Jersey is where he’s firmly rooted now. The proof was right there at the start of this interview. Pesce is sandwiched between Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon in the locker room, and in this moment Luke chimes in as the what would have been a one-on-one interview starts.

“I'll let you know if it's a bad question,” Hughes quipped.

I start setting the stage to ask Pesce about this milestone night. I'm having trouble completing my full setup of the opening question.

"Milestones? He doesn't care about milestones!" Hughes laughed. At least he didn't technically say it was a bad question.

Dillon then catches wind that it’s Game 700 for Pesce. He slips into his best New York accent: “Westchester kid,” he started. "If they had said, if they told you the Westchester kid would hit 700 games in a career, woo, wow..."

Pesce interjects himself in a heavy New York accent, something out of an old-time news program, you know the one: "Yeah, yeah, you know. They'd throw me in prison!"

Quickly, we’ve lost any sort of control of the interview, the three of them going back and forth. I'm not sure anyone knows what's going on at this point. But in some wayward fashion, it speaks profoundly to what Pesce is helping build in New Jersey. Pesce, unsurprisingly, has completely endeared himself to this Devils locker room ever since he signed a six-year contract in 2024. It’s like he’s always been here.

But he hasn't. He played the first 627 games of his soon-to-be 700 with Carolina, a place where he learned the valuable lessons that make his impact here in New Jersey far more profound than just on the ice. His time in Carolina shaped him as player, a leader and the ultimate teammate.

I asked him about his growth during his years in Carolina.

Maybe a bad question? Hughes adds his two cents before Pesce can even begin: “He wasn't married, now he's married. He was a little boy, and now he's a man."

Luke is, of course, right, but there was more than that with the passage of time for Pesce in Carolina; it was a wealth of experience, of locker room values, and wisdom that set him up to be the leader he is.

"It matured me," Pesce said. "Just kind of not in the hockey world, but outside of the world as well. I came there, as you know, a stupid 20 year old kid and from college, and kind of didn't really, know, understand, even life and hockey and how to deal with the ups and downs. But as time went on, there's so many good people in that organization that kind of turned me into the person I am today. And just from the pro aspect, just how to be a pro and how to take care of yourself, your body, and how to appreciate and respect the game of hockey, to not take it a day for granted. It's cliche, it is, but try to take that to this room. And you know, maybe one day a young guy will learn from me, or Dilly."

Eventually, Hughes abruptly declared he was bored with the interview and walked out. His exit only added to the fun.

There are massive grins on everyone's faces.

The camaraderie in this tiny corner of the Devils’ locker room is undeniable. These are the moments that turn a group of players into a team; these are the very lessons Pesce carried with him from his early years in Carolina.

With Hughes's exit, the conversation found its rhythm again.

Contract aside, when Pesce joined the Devils in 2024, the time was perfectly right. While the Tarrytown, New York native had a homecoming of sorts, it was also the right time in his career to make a move. His time in Carolina shaped him as a defenseman, as he entered the league under the tutelage of some of the greats in the NHL, including head coach Rod Brind'Amour. It was through that experience and that time in his career that set him up to be the perfect addition to the Devils when the time was right.

"He taught me a lot," Pesce shared. "You know what hard work truly is, to be honest. Roddy really cared about people, and the more you care about someone, better results come. And I'm a huge believer in that. And I try to, I know a few of us older guys, try to talk to all of us about in the room, it's just how important team bonding is, and caring for the guy next to you, it goes such a long way."

It was also a lesson he learned from a veteran who joined the Hurricanes for a second time in 2016, Pesce's rookie season. A wiley veteran, joining a skilled, exciting team, trying to make an impact. Sound familiar?

"I remember bringing in Justin Williams," Pesce said, "He was the captain for a few years, and kind of just instilled that in us, to say, you know, caring is everything, and not accepting losing, as well. That's another big one we're doing. We're also learning that here. It's not okay to lose. It's, if you're gonna lose, but you should have a nasty pit in your stomach, whether it's Game 1or Game 82. We're just maturing; guys are getting older, and they're learning how to be pros here. And you already see a difference in last year, whether it's in the gym or whatnot. It's kind of cool to see."

For all that Carolina instilled in him of how to be a teammate, how to build a culture, and how to demand excellence from not just yourself but from your teammates, he’s already seeing those same values take root in New Jersey, even with just one year behind him.

"I think we're growing that here, and it's cool to kind of see that, increase, and everyone getting that much closer, even from last year, and it's just camp, and it's pretty cool because, I'm almost kind of reliving it now, it's not in Carolina, but now I'm kind of reliving it here with the Devils, and I'm just really happy to be a part of it."

The playful banter between Pesce and Hughes in the locker room is more than just fun and games; it’s a living example of what Pesce has been talking about when he speaks to the importance of caring for one another. Those jokes, light-hearted teasing, and laughs at their locker room stalls build the trust and camaraderie that turn a group of players into a team. It’s these moments, off the ice as much as on it, that shape the culture of caring, of accountability, of winning the right way, that Pesce values so profoundly.

For Pesce, the moment in Carolina, when he steps on the ice for Game 700, no matter how insignificant that number may feel in the grand scheme of things, isn’t just about where he’s been, but about being part of what’s taking shape with the Devils right now.

"That's kind of more important to me than it is than the milestone," he said. "It is like a full circle moment to go back there for 700 games. I've got a lot of friends on the team, and even more, so, you know, they knocked us out last year."