Hurricanes’ Pesce receives 6-year contract extension worth $4.025 million a season

The Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday agreed to terms with defenseman Brett Pesce on a six-year contract extension that will begin in the 2018-19 season and pay Pesce $4.025 million per season.

“Brett took another big step forward last season,” general manager Ron Francis said in a statement. “He plays a smart defensive game and has good ability to move the puck and contribute offensively. We plan for him to be a part of the Hurricanes’ defensive corps for a long time.”

Pesce, 22, completed his second full professional season in 2016-17, playing all 82 Hurricanes’ games. He set NHL career highs with 18 assists and 20 points, and, along with his defensive partner Jaccob Slavin, posted a franchise single-season best plus-23 plus/minus rating. Pesce and Slavin finished the 2016-17 season ranked tied for 10th among all NHL skaters in plus/minus.

Slavin recently was signed to a seven-year extension that begins in 2018-19 and has an average annual value of $5.3 million.

This story was originally published August 1, 2017 at 4:28 PM.