Over their 50-year history, the Vancouver Canucks have had many players come through the doors of Rogers Arena and the Pacific Coliseum. It’s hard to remember them all, especially when they are more well-known in another jersey. In this series, we are going to look back at some former NHLers that played for the Canucks, but do not come to mind as such when we think of their NHL careers.
Michael Peca is mostly known for his time with the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders, but during the 1992 NHL Draft, the Canucks selected the Toronto, Ontario native 40th overall. He ended up playing only 37 games in the orange and black before getting traded in the package to acquire superstar Alexander Mogilny from the Sabres in 1995.
Peca’s Career Before Joining the Canucks
The 1992 NHL Draft produced plenty of star power including current Canucks assistant coach Sergei Gonchar, who ended up leading the entire draft class in assists (591) and points (811), Alexei Yashin, Cory Stillman, Martin Straka, Jere Lehtinen, Darren McCarty, Roman Hamrlik, and Adrian Aucoin – just to name a few. It also saw the Canucks select Peca 40th overall after a draft year split between the Sudbury Wolves (50 points in 39 games) and the Ottawa 67’s (25 points in 27 games) in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Related: Canucks Forgotten Ones: Rick Vaive
Peca’s next two seasons with the 67’s were by far his best as he hit the century mark twice posting 102 points in 1992-93 and a career-high 113 points in 1993-94. He also was a star in the OHL Playoffs recording 13 goals and 45 points in 28 games. All in all, he finished his junior career with an impressive 126 goals and 331 points in 238 games, culminating in a gold medal at the 1994 World Junior Championship skating alongside future Canucks Anson Carter and Bryan McCabe.
Peca’s Career With the Canucks
After playing only four games with the Canucks during the 1993-94 season, Peca made the opening night roster in the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season and promptly scored his first NHL goal against the Dallas Stars in the first game of the campaign. Assisted by Dave Babych and Geoff Courtnall, his power play tally tied the game and secured his team a point as it ended in a 1-1 tie.
Despite his heroics in game one, Peca didn’t play the entire season in the NHL as he split his time between the Canucks and their then-American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Overall, he played 33 games in the NHL in his rookie season, finishing with his only goals (six) and points (12) in Vancouver. As mentioned off the top, he was traded during the 1995 NHL Draft to the Sabres for sniper and future fan favourite Alex Mogilny. However, unlike some trades (see Cam Neely), this one did not end badly as Mogilny scored 139 goals (including 55 in 1995-96) and 308 points during his tenure with the Canucks.
Peca’s NHL Career After the Canucks
After getting traded to the Sabres, Peca broke out as one of the NHL’s best defensive forwards, winning the Selke Trophy twice and being a finalist four times (he even got votes for the Hart Trophy in 2001-02). He also showcased tremendous leadership abilities and was named captain of the Sabres at the young age of 22. He held that role for four seasons before getting dealt to the New York Islanders where he wore the “C” again from 2001-2004. Finally, he led Team Canada as its captain during the 2001 World Championship and donned the maple leaf again at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Peca wasn’t known as a prolific goalscorer – he only hit 20 or more goals four times in his career – but he was always the first one out there on the penalty kill and was a wizard at faceoffs. By the time he retired in 2009, he had played 14 seasons in the NHL and scored 176 goals and 465 points in 864 games. After a career spanning six teams (Canucks, Sabres, Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs), he probably was one of the most successful two-way players to come out of the second round in NHL history. Unfortunately, he didn’t win any Cups but made it to the Final in 1999 with the Sabres and stepped up whenever the postseason came around finishing with 15 goals and 34 points in 97 career playoff games.
Life After Hockey
Peca stayed around the game of hockey after retirement, becoming the general manager (GM) of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s (OJHL) Buffalo Jr. Sabres in 2011-12. He also held the title of GM/head coach in 2012-13 and 2013-14 and coached their U15 and U16 squads, too. He returned to the NHL in 2020-21 with the Washington Capitals as a development coach and then spent two seasons with the Rochester Americans in the AHL as an assistant coach under Seth Appert.
Peca will get his first chance behind an NHL bench in 2023-24 as he was recently hired by the New York Rangers to be an assistant coach under new head coach Peter Laviolette.
Canucks’ All-Time Ranks
Games Played: 37 GP (T369th)
Goals: 6 G (T274th)
Assists: 6 A (T338th)
Points: 12 P (T326th)
