Throughout the summer and into the fall, we’ll be counting down the days until the Edmonton Oilers begin their 2023-24 season with a daily trip down memory lane. Today at No. 37, we have one of the one-and-done wonders from the ’06 Stanley Cup Final run, Mike Peca.
Peca was the first-round pick in the 1990 OHL draft by the Sudbury Wolves but didn’t break out until a couple of years later when he was traded to the Ottawa 67’s. He scored 102 points across 55 games with Ottawa in 1991-92 and was selected in the second round of that summer’s NHL draft by the Vancouver Canucks.
He made his NHL debut during the 1993-94 season and broke through as a full-time player on the Canucks during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season. That following off-season, Peca was traded along with Mike Wilson and a first-round draft pick to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for star winger Alex Mogilny.
While in Buffalo, Peca developed into one of the league’s best two-way centres. He won the Frank J. Selke Trophy with the Sabres in 1996-97 and captained the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 1998-99.
The Sabres and Peca couldn’t come to terms on a contract for the 2000-01 season and he wound up holding out for the entire year. During the following summer, the Sabres dealt Peca to the New York Islanders and he won the Selke Trophy in his first season back.
Peca spent three years with the Islanders before he was traded to the Oilers following the end of the lockout in the summer of 2005. Edmonton acquired Peca just one day after they had acquired star defenceman Chris Pronger from the St. Louis Blues.
Edmonton Journal Newspaper Clipping from August 4, 2005.
Peca only scored 23 points over 73 regular season games for the Oilers but he was huge for the team during the playoffs. He scored six goals and 11 points during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final and was often tasked with being the shutdown centre who went up against the other team’s top line.
Following the 2005-06 season, Peca inked a one-year contract to join his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. After an injury-riddled season in Toronto, Peca played two more years with the Columbus Blue Jackets before retiring in 2010.
In the off-season, Peca was named an assistant coach on Peter Laviolette’s staff with the New York Rangers. Laviolette coached Peca while with the New York Islanders back in the early 2000s.
PLAYER COUNTDOWN PRESENTED BY BETWAY
Previous days
- 99 Days Until The Season Begins — Wayne Gretzky
- 98 Days Until The Season Begins — Jesse Puljujarvi
- 97 Days Until The Season Begins — Connor McDavid
- 96 Days Until The Season Begins — Jayden Grubbe
- 95 Days Until The Season Begins — The 1995 Draft
- 94 Days Until The Season Begins — Ryan Smyth
- 93 Days Until The Season Begins — Petr Nedved
- 92 Days Until The Season Begins — Tomas Jurco
- 91 Days Until The Season Begins — Magnus Paajarvi
- 90 Days Until The Season Begins — The 1990 Stanley Cup
- 89 Days Until The Season Begins — Mike Comrie
- 88 Days Until The Season Begins – Brandon Davidson
- 87 Days Until The Season Begins — Rendez-vous ’87
- 86 Days Until The Season Begins — Nikita Nikitin
- 85 Days Until The Season Begins — Petr Klima
- 84 Days Until The Season Begins — Oscar Klefbom
- 83 Days Until The Season Begins — Ales Hemsky
- 82 Days Until The Season Begins — Jordan Oesterle
- 80 Days Until The Season Begins — Ilya Bryzgalov
- 79 Days Until The Season Begins — The WHA-NHL Merger
- 78 Days Until The Season Begins — Marc-Antoine Pouliot
- 77 Days Until The Season Begins — Adam Oates
- 76 Days Until The Season Begins — Bryan Young
- 75 Days Until The Season Begins — Jacques Plante
- 74 Days Until The Season Begins — The Edmonton Gardens
- 73 Days Until The Season Begins — Vincent Desharnais
- 72 Days Until The Season Begins — The Alberta Oilers
- 71 Days Until The Season Begins — Lubomir Visnovsky
- 70 Days Until The Season Begins — Curtis Hamilton
- 69 Days Until The Season Begins — Nice jersey number
- 68 Days Until The Season Begins — Jaromir Jagr
- 67 Days Until The Season Begins — Gilbert Brule
- 66 Days Until The Season Begins — The 1966 Memorial Cup
- 65 Days Until The Season Begins — Mark Napier
- 64 Days Until The Season Begins — McDavid’s 64-goal season
- 63 Days Until The Season Begins — Tyler Ennis
- 62 Days Until The Season Begins — Mark Arcobello
- 61 Days Until The Season Begins — Wayne Gretzky’s 61 records
- 60 Days Until The Season Begins — Sebastien Bisaillon
- 59 Days Until The Season Begins — Brad Hunt
- 58 Days Until The Season Begins — Johan Motin
- 57 Days Until The Season Begins — David Perron
- 56 Days Until The Season Begins — Teemu Hartikainen
- 55 Days Until The Season Begins — Igor Ulanov
- 54 Days Until The Season Begins — Jujhar Khaira
- 53 Days Until The Season Begins — Reid Schaefer
- 52 Days Until The Season Begins — Jerred Smithson
- 51 Days Until The Season Begins — Andrei Kovalenko
- 50 Days Until The Season Begins — 50-Goal Seasons
- 49 Days Until The Season Begins — Edmonton Mercurys
- 48 Days Until The Season Begins — Edmonton Flyers
- 47 Days Until The Season Begins — Marc-Andre Bergeron
- 46 Days Until The Season Begins — Jani Rita
- 45 Days Until The Season Begins — Ales Pisa
- 44 Days Until The Season Begins — Chris Pronger
- 43 Days Until The Season Begins — Jason Strudwick
- 42 Days Until The Season Begins — Doug Weight
- 41 Days Until The Season Begins — Mike Smith
- 40 Days Until The Season Begins — Devan Dubnyk
- 39 Days Until The Season Begins — Bogdan Yakimov
- 38 Days Until The Season Begins — Edmonton Investors Group
