Michael Peca to join New York Rangers coaching staff
According to Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek, former New York Islanders captain Michael Peca will be joining the New York Rangers bench. It’s noteworthy that Peca played under Peter Laviolette when he coached the Isles.
The Rangers will introduce Laviolette today as their new bench boss at a scheduled press conference. There’s no word at this time when the team will announce his coaching staff.
Michael Peca to join Rangers coaching staff
Peca, 49, played 14 seasons in the NHL split between the Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Columbus Blue Jackets. During his playing time, he amassed 176 goals and 289 assists for 465 points in 864 regular-season games.
The Toronto native was selected in the second-round by the Canucks in the 1992 Draft and retired after the 2008-2009 season. Afterwards, Peca moved on to coaching, where he’s been an assistant with the AHL’s Rochester Americans in charge of their forwards and power play the last two years.
One of the key reasons the Rangers added Peca to the staff is for his ability to connect and mentor young players. He’s been credited with developing some of the Buffalo Sabres key prospects like JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn. There’s no doubt that GM Chris Drury will want Peca guiding Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil to the next level.
Another strong possibility to be one of Laviolette’s assistants, is his longtime running mate Kevin McCarthy.
The 65 year-old former NHL defenseman has worked with Laviolette at all his stops except for the Islanders. He won the Stanley Cup in 2006 alongside Peter behind the Carolina Hurricanes bench.
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