Assistant coach Michael Peca won’t return to the Rangers’ bench subsequent season, The Publish confirmed Thursday.
As reported by The Fourth Interval, the 51-year-old Peca is about to affix new Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill’s workers after spending the final two seasons with the Blueshirts.
After discussions with each Peca and new Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan, in accordance with a supply, the group felt this was the most effective determination for each events.
The Rangers are nonetheless working by means of filling out the rest of their teaching workers, which can embrace holdovers in goalie coach Jeff Malcolm and abilities coach Christian Hmura.
Peca, who’s transferring on from his first assistant teaching gig within the NHL, deserves a bulk of the credit score for the Rangers’ enchancment on faceoffs.
By means of the final two seasons, the Rangers personal the fifth-highest faceoff win proportion (52.9) within the NHL.
This after a decade of ending under 50 p.c every season.
“When we picked the staff, there were reasons why we picked certain people and certainly Michael Peca has had success in the faceoff circle,” ex-head coach Peter Laviolette mentioned in October 2023, referencing Peca’s profession faceoff proportion of 51.4.
“[He’s] able to help players I think with regard to that and so there’s a lot that goes into it, the preparation for a game with faceoffs and working out on the ice. So far there’s bee early success.”
Peca was additionally accountable for the Rangers energy play, which was extremely robust in Yr 1 earlier than dropping off — together with many different features of the Rangers sport — in Yr 2.
The Rangers owned a No. 3-ranked energy play in 2023-24 (26.4) and fell all the best way to twenty eighth this previous season (17.6).
