I walked out of the Garden following Saturday’s 4-3 extra time victory over the Sabres pondering the Rangers probably aren’t going to give you the chance to maintain Michael Peca on their staff as an assistant coach for all that long.
In actual fact, unless there’s a dramatic reversal of fortune in Buffalo, where the Sabres are observing a thirteenth straight season out of the playoffs, I’d expect the Pegula ownership to hunt permission to bring Peca back to the organization where he was captain as a player and a coach of their minor league system.
Don Granato in his fourth full season behind the Sabres bench. Everyone seems to love him. Everyone seems to imagine he’s a great coach.
Yet the team hasn’t been capable of quite turn the corner under Granato despite a flurry of moves over the past three seasons by general manager Kevyn Adams and a succession of high draft selections.
Peca was the personification of the hard-edged, goonish-leaning group fostered within the late Nineteen Nineties by then-head coach Lindy Ruff. He captained the Sabres to the 1999 final that was lost on Brett Hull’s in-the-crease extra time goal in Game 6 that gave the Stanley Cup to Dallas.
The middle played one other season after which sat out the complete 2000-01 season in a contract dispute. (Every now and again, that happened back then. Petr Nedved sat out. So did Sean Burke. So did Nikolai Khabibulin.)
Peca’s holdout got him traded to the Islanders, where he connected with first-year, first-time coach Peter Laviolette to take the team to the playoffs after a seven-year drought. That was the start of a relationship that’s bearing fruit for the Rangers.
Following retirement, Peca coached the Buffalo Junior Sabres. Laviolette hired him as a player development coach in Washington to work with the taxi squad through the 2020-21 season. No. 27 moved back to the Sabres organization to change into head coach of Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester for 2 seasons before joining the Blueshirts’ staff this 12 months.
That is Laviolette’s show. He’s in on every little thing. He’s the decider. But at the identical time, the top coach can be a delegator.
Peca has been delegated to supervise the facility play and faceoffs. His impact has been enormous.
Peca’s points of emphasis
The Rangers had gone nearly a decade without winning greater than 50 percent of their draws. They ranked twenty third within the league at an aggregate 48.6 in two seasons under head coach Gerard Gallant, who put little emphasis on faceoffs.
Prior to that, they ranked thirty first (and last) at 46.2 percent 0ver David Quinn’s three seasons behind the bench.
Over the nine seasons from 2014-15 through 2022-23, the Blueshirts ranked thirtieth at 47.8 percent.
Now, under Peca’s tutelage, the Rangers lead the NHL in faceoff proficiency at 54.8 percent entering Wednesday’s resumption of play on the Garden against Washington, with Vincent Trocheck — who told The Post in training camp that while growing up he modeled his game on Peca — second within the league at 63.4 percent.
The Blueshirts have had an imposing power play ever since Quinn constructed his four-righty, one-defenseman first unit in late November 2019. Then it was Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome and Tony DeAngelo. The Blueshirts ripped off at a 29.9 percent success rate the remainder of the season.
Fox replaced DeAngelo at the highest through the first week of the next season. Trocheck replaced Strome in the beginning of last season within the exchange of No. 16s through the summer of 2022. The ability play remained proficient while growing somewhat entitled, but was not quite the overwhelming weapon it must have been given the sum of its parts.
This season, with Peca’s guidance, the Rangers lead the NHL with a 31.3 percent power play that’s more creative and dynamic than it had been the previous few seasons, even when there are occasions when it appears Zibanejad’s off-wing, one-timer represents Option 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
So, two areas of experience for Peca and two areas wherein the Rangers lead the league.
And that’s the reason this Toronto native who will have fun his fiftieth birthday in May will likely be toward the highest of wish lists for any variety of clubs in search of a latest head coach next season.
There’s a likelihood Peca may not imagine he’s ready for a head coaching job as soon as next season and that he would decide to remain as Laviolette’s assistant for a second 12 months. But possibly not.
Peca has a résumé in Buffalo. The Sabres haven’t been capable of get it right for greater than a decade. The Rangers should enjoy him while they’ll. That’s what I used to be pondering leaving the Garden on Saturday.
What’s left in 2023
Three games remaining within the calendar 12 months during which the Rangers have gone 51-18-8 for coaches Gallant (28-10-7) and Laviolette (23-8-1), the primary against the Caps before a back-to-back Friday and Saturday in Florida against the Panthers after which the Lightning.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the Blueshirts reply to Matthew Tkachuk’s limitless emotion and physicality.
Because when you’re lining up potential roadblocks to the ultimate, Tkachuk and the reigning conference champion Panthers are two rolled into one.
It is a player that not only Laviolette might want to game-plan against, but in addition one whom GM Chris Drury must have within the front of his mind because the trading season approaches.
I walked out of the Garden following Saturday’s 4-3 extra time victory over the Sabres pondering the Rangers probably aren’t going to give you the chance to maintain Michael Peca on their staff as an assistant coach for all that long.
In actual fact, unless there’s a dramatic reversal of fortune in Buffalo, where the Sabres are observing a thirteenth straight season out of the playoffs, I’d expect the Pegula ownership to hunt permission to bring Peca back to the organization where he was captain as a player and a coach of their minor league system.
Don Granato in his fourth full season behind the Sabres bench. Everyone seems to love him. Everyone seems to imagine he’s a great coach.
Yet the team hasn’t been capable of quite turn the corner under Granato despite a flurry of moves over the past three seasons by general manager Kevyn Adams and a succession of high draft selections.
Peca was the personification of the hard-edged, goonish-leaning group fostered within the late Nineteen Nineties by then-head coach Lindy Ruff. He captained the Sabres to the 1999 final that was lost on Brett Hull’s in-the-crease extra time goal in Game 6 that gave the Stanley Cup to Dallas.
The middle played one other season after which sat out the complete 2000-01 season in a contract dispute. (Every now and again, that happened back then. Petr Nedved sat out. So did Sean Burke. So did Nikolai Khabibulin.)
Peca’s holdout got him traded to the Islanders, where he connected with first-year, first-time coach Peter Laviolette to take the team to the playoffs after a seven-year drought. That was the start of a relationship that’s bearing fruit for the Rangers.
Following retirement, Peca coached the Buffalo Junior Sabres. Laviolette hired him as a player development coach in Washington to work with the taxi squad through the 2020-21 season. No. 27 moved back to the Sabres organization to change into head coach of Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester for 2 seasons before joining the Blueshirts’ staff this 12 months.
That is Laviolette’s show. He’s in on every little thing. He’s the decider. But at the identical time, the top coach can be a delegator.
Peca has been delegated to supervise the facility play and faceoffs. His impact has been enormous.
Peca’s points of emphasis
The Rangers had gone nearly a decade without winning greater than 50 percent of their draws. They ranked twenty third within the league at an aggregate 48.6 in two seasons under head coach Gerard Gallant, who put little emphasis on faceoffs.
Prior to that, they ranked thirty first (and last) at 46.2 percent 0ver David Quinn’s three seasons behind the bench.
Over the nine seasons from 2014-15 through 2022-23, the Blueshirts ranked thirtieth at 47.8 percent.
Now, under Peca’s tutelage, the Rangers lead the NHL in faceoff proficiency at 54.8 percent entering Wednesday’s resumption of play on the Garden against Washington, with Vincent Trocheck — who told The Post in training camp that while growing up he modeled his game on Peca — second within the league at 63.4 percent.
The Blueshirts have had an imposing power play ever since Quinn constructed his four-righty, one-defenseman first unit in late November 2019. Then it was Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome and Tony DeAngelo. The Blueshirts ripped off at a 29.9 percent success rate the remainder of the season.
Fox replaced DeAngelo at the highest through the first week of the next season. Trocheck replaced Strome in the beginning of last season within the exchange of No. 16s through the summer of 2022. The ability play remained proficient while growing somewhat entitled, but was not quite the overwhelming weapon it must have been given the sum of its parts.
This season, with Peca’s guidance, the Rangers lead the NHL with a 31.3 percent power play that’s more creative and dynamic than it had been the previous few seasons, even when there are occasions when it appears Zibanejad’s off-wing, one-timer represents Option 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
So, two areas of experience for Peca and two areas wherein the Rangers lead the league.
And that’s the reason this Toronto native who will have fun his fiftieth birthday in May will likely be toward the highest of wish lists for any variety of clubs in search of a latest head coach next season.
There’s a likelihood Peca may not imagine he’s ready for a head coaching job as soon as next season and that he would decide to remain as Laviolette’s assistant for a second 12 months. But possibly not.
Peca has a résumé in Buffalo. The Sabres haven’t been capable of get it right for greater than a decade. The Rangers should enjoy him while they’ll. That’s what I used to be pondering leaving the Garden on Saturday.
What’s left in 2023
Three games remaining within the calendar 12 months during which the Rangers have gone 51-18-8 for coaches Gallant (28-10-7) and Laviolette (23-8-1), the primary against the Caps before a back-to-back Friday and Saturday in Florida against the Panthers after which the Lightning.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the Blueshirts reply to Matthew Tkachuk’s limitless emotion and physicality.
Because when you’re lining up potential roadblocks to the ultimate, Tkachuk and the reigning conference champion Panthers are two rolled into one.
It is a player that not only Laviolette might want to game-plan against, but in addition one whom GM Chris Drury must have within the front of his mind because the trading season approaches.
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