Peter Laviolette has been announced as the 37th head coach in the history of the New York Rangers franchise. I tweeted on Saturday, June 17th that I had heard Michael Peca's name in the ring to join Laviolette on the Rangers bench. Sportsnet's Jeff Marek just put out a tweet confirming that Peca will in fact be a part of this new chapter for the Rangers organization. Considering that Peca had a very long and successful NHL playing career, in addition to his young coaching experience, he is the perfect kind of voice that this Rangers group can lean on. Fun fact: Peca actually played against Peter Laviolette in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, as he was a member of the Edmonton Oilers. One of the most important needs for the Rangers is to get the most out of their younger players, which seems to be one of Peca's specialties. He has spent the previous two years as an assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres' AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, where he coached some of the league's younger and more talented players like Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka. Quinn and Peterka both just finished up their rookie seasons with the Sabres, both of which tallied north of 30 points. The Rangers' hope for a guy like Peca is to come in and work with younger guys like Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere, and perhaps the players that are on their way up, like Brennan Othmann (drafted 16th overall in 2021) and Will Cuylle (60th overall, 2020). Developing prospects has been a massive crutch for the Rangers over the past decade and it can be assumed that a lot of this responsibility will now belong to Peca. He has been known to be a phenomenal role model and leader in the hockey community. I haven't heard one negative thing said about him. Ranger fans are used to seeing him in Islander colors, but it is safe to say that Peca has joined the right side. I am very excited to see what he can do with the young talent in New York. I will have more to share about this in the coming days.
