New Jersey Devils make the right decision bringing Brett Pesce back slowly

The New Jersey Devils are in Prague, Czechia as they prepare to start their season against the Buffalo Sabres on October 4th. It's a unique situation that has changed how Tom Fitzgerald is making roster decisions. While most teams can spend the next week making hard cuts and figuring out who is an NHL player and who should go to the AHL, Fitzgerald needed to decide on his final roster on September 29th because he's sending that roster on the longest possible road trip of the season.

That's why we're probably getting stuck with the Jack Hughes-Timo Meier pairing, and it's definitely why Seamus Casey is making his NHL debut (likely) way earlier than we expected. There's some good with an early roster decision, as the team can go on instinct instead of overthinking what's happening with those players.

It also forces coaches and front office members to play it safe with guys coming back from injuries. Instead of trying to ramp them up in the preseason, they can let them truly get healthy.

That's the case with Brett Pesce. Many were surprised when we learned he was still recovering from offseason surgery. The Devils signed Pesce to a six-year, $33 million contract. That is a long time and a lot of money for a player who is coming off an injury. The Devils must be patient and allow Pesce to have the best opportunity to start his career well. The Devils have rushed players back from injury before and made it worse.

The New Jersey Devils are smart to keep Brett Pesce in New Jersey to recover.

There's no reason to rush Pesce back from injury. Even if he takes another few weeks to come back, that's fine. We understand the Devils are already down Luke Hughes, but they cannot overreact when every single team is 0-0. There's a whole season left. Even if the Devils lose both games in Prague and start 0-2, it's fine.

Do we remember the last time the Devils started a season 0-2? The team broke the franchise record for points in a season. Let Pesce, and Hughes for that matter, take every day they need to fully recover. We need them at 100 percent in January much more than we need them at 80 percent in October.