Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Brett Pesce is expected to miss significant time with a lower-body injury. 

Head coach Rod Brind'Amour did not give a specific timeline for Pesce, who has been out since Oct. 19, but noted he would be out longer than week-to-week.

"Bad news. I was hoping he'd be a day or two away, but that's definitely not the case," Brind'Amour said on Wednesday. 

"Way more than that," he responded when asked about a week-to-week timeline. "It's not good."

Pesce has one goal and two points in five games with the Hurricanes this season. 

The 28-year-old blueliner had five goals and 30 points while playing all 82 games last season. He added two goals and six points in 15 playoff games.

Pesce is a pending unrestricted free agent, carrying a cap hit of $4.025 million on his expiring deal.