Michael Peca

[Eye of Ra]

How good was he when playing for this franchise? What type of impact did he have on the ice?

Could he play today in NHL if he was in his prime?

 

[hizzoner]

He was a middle of the road guy as far as nhl talent was concerned but he had the heart of a lion and stupendous smarts, grit and work ethic. Not a first liner but at his peak a decent second liner. On todays Sabres? A very good third line centre.

 

[MayDayMayDay]

Huge Peca fan. Hizzoner's assessment is pretty much bang on. Excellent leader. Middle of the road talent, but man did he empty the tank every night. And he was hella smart. One of the most under-celebrated Sabres in my opinion. There's a part of me that wonders if he wouldn't be a candidate to replace Bylsma.

 

[SharkInABoloTie]

My favorite player as a child. My first jersey was Peca's. Broke my heart when him and the team couldn't come to an agreement

 

[joshjull]

With the way he played and hit. He would be suspended a lot.

 

[CaptPantalones]

As a under 40 Sabres fan, I consider him the best leader of my generation. It was a damn shame he didn't have longer here

 

[TheMistyStranger]

I have very fond memories of Varada - Peca - Ward. Excellent faceoffs guy, huge hitter, great defensively, and could really blast those cans of tuna.

 

[ende]

Peca is basically the same player as Eichel. Ya know? I mean, they got heart and all, but at the end of the day they are nothing compared to Auston Matthews.

 

[flashsabre]

A great open ice hitter. Him and Dixon Ward had some special chemistry back in the day.

When he played junior for the Ottawa 67s, Kilrea absolutely loved him. There were big games which Kilrea would play him at centre then for a breather move him back to defense rather then have him come to the bench.

A great leader and the start of the late 90s team fall was his holdout and trade.

 

[Ralonzo]

He was the guy that made me believe the Sabres might be able to win the Cup.

The double-OT goal vs Montreal...

 

[Ball1374]

As much as I remember his Selke season as a kid, I remember his holdout season even more. I will go to my grave saying that if we had him in 2000-01, we would've beaten Pittsburgh, and probably New Jersey, and advance to the finals again. He was a big reason why we couldn't stop Lemieux and Jagr in that series. That holdout did more damage, too, being that Hasek saw how Regis and Co. treated the meetings with Peca, and he saw the writing on the wall, leading him to asking to be traded that following off season. Regardless, he was the reason those late 90's teams were called the Hardest Working Team in Hockey; he epitomized the team effort given on a lot of those nights, and was a helluva leader to boot.

 

[Meichel Kane]

With the way he played and hit. He would be suspended a lot.

 

[SatanwasaSlovak]

The absolute best defensive center of his generation.

I think he if he played today he would be considered better than Patrice Bergeron for sure.

 

[Chainshot]

Tie Domi made threats about going after Bure in the rematch. Peca came back wearing a faceshield to end the season because he'd broken his cheekbone on Selanne's helmet on that hit.

 

[old kummelweck]

He's in my top 10 sabres.

 

[old kummelweck]

Yeah, you can't get away with that anymore.

One of the best open-ice hitters to wear the blue and gold.

 

[Reddawg]

Think "Ryan Callahan" and you've pretty much got Peca. A heart and soul guy every team needs on the ice and the locker room, but the benefit he brought to his teams couldn't always be quantified on the score sheet.

 

[Icicle]

peca is what made me like hockey

 

[Chainshot]

Back when they first put Ward and Peca together (then with the most Dawesome one on the other wing), they had a stretch of games from early November until March when they didn't yield an even strength goal against.

Think about that.

 

[ende]

Back when they first put Ward and Peca together (then with the most Dawesome one on the other wing), they had a stretch of games from early November until March when they didn't yield an even strength goal against.

Think about that.

Jason Dawe?

 

[dasaybz]

The absolute best defensive center of his generation.

I think he if he played today he would be considered better than Patrice Bergeron for sure.

Let's not get carried away here.

He was a good player, but more of a 3rd line shut down center. Reminded me alot of Drury without Drury's goal scoring ability, but he definitely hit more than Drury.

 

[ThunderD]

As much as I remember his Selke season as a kid, I remember his holdout season even more. I will go to my grave saying that if we had him in 2000-01, we would've beaten Pittsburgh, and probably New Jersey, and advance to the finals again. He was a big reason why we couldn't stop Lemieux and Jagr in that series. That holdout did more damage, too, being that Hasek saw how Regis and Co. treated the meetings with Peca, and he saw the writing on the wall, leading him to asking to be traded that following off season. Regardless, he was the reason those late 90's teams were called the Hardest Working Team in Hockey; he epitomized the team effort given on a lot of those nights, and was a helluva leader to boot.

I like him as most others here do, but this deserves mention. Yes, we would've beat Pittsburgh, not just because of how we played that entire series, but if we had him taking the faceoff with 18.6 seconds to win the series instead of Curtis Brown. Yes, a great hitter and a great leader but as most said a third line center or a possible 2nd line center. Not the top line guy he thought of himself. I blame Rigas for Drury and Briere but not Peca.

 

[Insomniac99]

He made other players terrified of center ice.

 

[SatanwasaSlovak]

Let's not get carried away here.

He was a good player, but more of a 3rd line shut down center. Reminded me alot of Drury without Drury's goal scoring ability, but he definitely hit more than Drury.

Carried away? He was among the absolute best defensive centers of his time. Calling him a third-line center or a middle-of-the-road talent is wrong, very wrong. Comparing him to a guy like Ryan Callahan i see as an insult.

Without Peca there's no run for the cup. He was very important against every team that had forward-superstars.

 

[TehDoak]

The absolute best defensive center of his generation.

I think he if he played today he would be considered better than Patrice Bergeron for sure.

Carried away? He was among the absolute best defensive centers of his time. Calling him a third-line center or a middle-of-the-road talent is wrong, very wrong. Comparing him to a guy like Ryan Callahan i see as an insult.

Without Peca there's no run for the cup. He was very important against every team that had forward-superstars.

He certainly was an elite defensive center...but let's not get carried away about his offense. He was what i'd call "an ideal 2nd line center" who can play in all situations and put up 40-50 pts.

Bergeron has a MUCH better offensive output consistently.

Also, let's not fool ourselves. Hasek was the reason for that teams success. Take Hasek off the 98/99 squads, that team isn't sniffing the playoffs, let alone winning a round.