Peca joins Blackhawks as assistant coach
Published
Michael Peca is joining another Original Six team.
The former New York Rangers assistant has joined Jeff Blashill's staff on the Chicago Blackhawks bench.
Peca, 51, had been an assistant under Peter Laviolette for the past two seasons with the Blueshirts, but was let go after the season along with Laviolette and the rest of his staff.
The 51-year-old Blashill was named Blackhawks head coach last week.
A native of Toronto, Peca has been involved in coaching since his NHL retirement in 2009. After a stint managing the Buffalo Jr. Sabres of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, Peca joined the Washington Capitals as a player development coach before taking a job as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres' American Hockey League-affiliate Rochester Americans.
Originally taken with the 40th overall selection of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft out of the Ontario Hockey League's Sudbury Wolves by the Vancouver Canucks, Peca appeared in 864 NHL contests over 14 seasons with the Canucks, Sabres, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets. A two-time Selke Trophy winner as the league's best defensive forward, Peca notched 176 goals and 289 assists for his career.
Internationally, Peca represented Canada on a number of occasions, including as part of gold medal-winning efforts at the 1994 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
Blashill also confirmed that Anders Sorensen, who took over as the team's interim head coach upon the firing of Luke Richardson, and goaltending coach and former Blackhawks goaltender Jimmy Waite have been retained on his staff.