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Hurricanes' Brett Pesce: Decides against surgery

It's still expected that Pesce will miss the remainder of the season, but he must've had a second opinion to change his mind about surgery. Either way, fantasy owners can safely drop Pesce at this time. He had a pretty good season based on 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) and 101 blocked shots through 65 games, but Pesce isn't a household name and shouldn't be anything more than a late-round draft pick in virtual leagues this fall.

Hurricanes' Brett Pesce: Opting for shoulder surgery

It's funny to hear "out for the season" when the team only has nine games left, but the Hurricanes need a miracle to wind up in the postseason, so it appears that Pesce will go under the knife with hopes of being ready for trianing camp in the fall. The New York native finishes with 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) which probably didn't move the needle in most fantasy leagues, though Pesce did manage 100-plus blocked shots for the second consecutive season.

Hurricanes' Brett Pesce: Will miss remainder of season

The Hurricanes are a long shot to make the playoffs at this point in the season, so there's no sense in having Pesce continue to play through an injury when he can start his rehab immediately and set his sights on getting back to 100 percent ahead of the 2018-19 campaign. The 23-year-old blueliner was solid for Carolina this season, totaling three goals and 19 points while averaging a whopping 20:54 of ice time in 65 contests, but his underwhelming offensive production keeps him from being a viable option in most season-long fantasy formats.

Hurricanes' Brett Pesce: Adds helper in loss to Rangers

Pesce may have just 19 points on the season, but 10 of those points have come in the past 19 games. That's about a 40-point pace, or double his production from last season. Keep this in mind if your fantasy squad needs some blue-line help down the stretch.

Hurricanes' Brett Pesce: Contributing offensively in recent weeks

Pesce has looked re-energized over the past few weeks, ever since returning from a five-game absence due to an upper-body injury in late January. It's worth noting that roughly half of his offensive production this season (six of 15 points) has come in the last 13 games. This still only gives him modest fantasy value in most formats, especially since he doesn't see any time on the power play, but if you're looking for a guy who regularly sees 20 minutes of ice time per night, Pesce's not a bad play right now.