TORONTO (July 6) -- The notion of NHL veterans Michael Peca and Darcy Tucker residing in the same dressing room is difficult to fathom for people who remember the brutal, opening-round playoff series in 2002 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders. The lasting image of that seven-game affair -- won at home by the Maple Leafs -- is Peca trying to leap over Tucker's extended rump at the Air Canada Centre. Ever since then, fans of the Islanders have despised Tucker for what they believed was an intentional low-bridging of Peca, who blew out his knee and was lost for the series. Maple Leaf supporters -- and Tucker, himself -- have claimed it was a perfectly legitimate hip-check that had a calamitous outcome for the New York forward.
Whatever the case, the hard feelings that existed between Peca and Tucker have long been soothed, and Peca is now hoping to join his former nemesis on the Toronto roster for 2006-07. Coming off a fine performance for Edmonton in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Peca wants to return to his home town as a free agent, and negotiations between his representative, Don Meehan, and the Maple Leafs have been picking up speed in recent days.
"It would be a dream come true for me," Peca admitted during a phone conversation I had with him late this afternoon. "But, I don't want to say too much about it, in case things don't materialize the way I hope they do."
In other words, Peca was trying to avoid jinxing himself. That's how badly he wants to don a blue and white jersey for next season. The Leafs would have to be looking at Peca in several different ways. Obviously, he'd have to agree to something far more economical than his $3,990,000 salary with the Oilers. But, that shouldn't be an overbearing issue. "Before July 1st, I indicated to Donny (Meehan) that my desire was more on location than monetary value, and that Toronto was on the top of my list," Peca said. "Free agency works differently for different people. It's either an opportunity to make as much money as you can, or an opportunity to try and locate yourself where you really want to play, and I think that's the case for me this time around. I've made good money in my NHL career and I feel I can still make a decent salary. But, I'd like to play in [Toronto] and really commit myself to trying to win there."
The Maple Leafs would also have to consider that Peca is a natural centre, and that centre is already the club's lone area of depth up front. Left-wing, however, is the thinnest among the Leafs' forward positions, where the club lists Chad Kilger and Alexei Ponikarovsky as the lone established NHLers. The Leafs also have a couple of young centres (Matt Stajan and Alex Steen) who shoot left and could be shifted to the flank. Steen played the wing during part of his rookie season and did not look out of place. Stajan is not a particularly effective faceoff man, and he has enough size (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) to muck along the boards. So, Peca could easily be slotted on to the Toronto roster. He is also a terrific penalty killer, and can skate well enough in the up-tempo NHL. He has been one of the most reliable and competitive defensive forwards in the league for the past decade; his character and leadership skills are well established, and he's still only 32 years of age.
While he excelled during the Oilers' surprise run to the Stanley Cup final, Peca did not enjoy a banner regular season. But, those who know him best will tell you that he butted heads with Edmonton coach Craig McTavish, and that he wasn't all that happy wearing the copper and blue. "It was a good year in Edmonton, but I'm looking for a different location in free agency," he confirmed.
Peca is best remembered in these parts for his leading role with the good Buffalo teams of the late-'90s (backed by goalie Dominik Hasek) -- in particular, the 1998-99 Sabres squad that advanced to the Stanley Cup final and lost in six games to the Dallas Stars. At the time, there was no more pesky and efficient checking forward in the game than Peca, whose relentless determination played a huge part in Buffalo's five-game annihilation of the Leafs in the '99 East final. He won the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward in 1997; finished second the following year, and third in 1998-99.
Peca missed the entire 2000-01 season while in a contract stalemate with the Sabres, and his rights were peddled to the Islanders during the 2001 NHL Draft in Sunrise, Fla. The Sabres received forwards Taylor Pyatt and Tim Connolly. Peca served as captain of the Islanders and his sudden injury absence in the hotly contested '02 playoff set with Toronto might have prevented the Isles from advancing past the Leafs. As it were, the home team won every game of the best-of-seven struggle, and the deciding match was played at the Air Canada Centre. Peca went to Edmonton last summer for Mike York and a conditional draft choice.
As for Peca and Tucker co-existing, both men claim there are no longer any issues between them. Tucker confirmed the '02 playoff incident was in the past prior to a mid-April Leafs/Islanders game at the Nassau Coliseum, suggesting the long-time rivals had discussed and settled their differences. Peca agreed, in our phone chat. "We've had plenty of conversations about it; we have some mutual friends and [Darcy] has gotten to know my cousin really well, so there are no issues," he said.
And while he remembers rooting for the Doug Gilmour-led team during the Leafs' surprising playoff run of 1993, Peca said his affinity for the Blue and White stretches further than that. "I played against the Gilmour Leafs, but I remember being a big fan of the Darryl Sittler-Lanny McDonald teams in the late-'70s, right through to the 'Hound' Line days of the '80s [Russ Courtnall, Wendel Clark and Gary Leeman]. So, yeah, it would be a dream come true to play for the Leafs. I realize the importance and privilege of putting on that jersey. It's probably a case where I'd have to pinch myself playing the first game at home and wearing that uniform."
Peca presents Leafs' GM John Ferguson with a fairly complete package. The negotiations between Ferguson and Don Meehan picked up after the July 1st signing craze that landed the Leafs defencemen Pavel Kubina and Hal Gill. If he joins the Blue and White, I'd bet on Peca quickly becoming a fan favorite in this hockey-mad city.
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