Assistant Coach Michael Peca is leaving the New York Rangers' coaching staff to join the Chicago Blackhawks.
The news comes the same afternoon as Detroit native, and former Red Wings head coach, Jeff Blashill was named the 42nd Head Coach in Chicago's franchise history. Blashill had most recently served as an Assistant Coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning for the past three seasons. Peca will join Blashill's new staff as an assistant alongside Anders Sorensen, who has been with the Blackhawks since 2013.
Peca was announced as an assistant coach for the Rangers on June 20, 2023 when he joined with now-former head coach Peter Laviolette. The former assistant had worked with Laviolette when they were in Washington, and now he joins a new organization with more of a chance to grow.
In New York he oversaw the power play, and under Peca's charge the Blueshirts' man-advantage unit went from having a legendary efficiency to being a complete disaster in just a year's time. To be more specific, it finished 28th out of the 32 teams in the NHL.
Why did Peca leave the Rangers?
Peca — 51-years-old — is likely leaving because he spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach for the Rangers. But, with Laviolette out and current head coach Mike Sullivan in, nobody from the old coaching staff's future is set in stone.
The Chicago Blackhawks themselves have gone through some tense situations as of recent years and have not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2020. Blashill is being brought on board to rebuild in hopes of bringing Chicago home a championship for the first time since 2015.
Blashill is stepping in to replace interim coach Anders Sorenson, who was promoted after the Blackhawks fired Luke Richardson early in the 2024-25 season.
Prior to Peca's latest two seasons on the Blueshirts' staff, he was an assistant coach with Rochester in the AHL. While there he oversaw the power play, and coached some future Buffalo Sabres and assisted in player development — becoming instrumental with some of their young players who are have an impact now in the league.
Peca himself is a former NHL star; he was known for his defensive forward play and won the Selke Trophy in 1997 and 2002.
At the end of the day, Peca has aspirations to be a NHL head coach. It appears the joining the Chicago Blackhawks' coaching staff is another step in what he considers to be the right direction. Blashill doesn't have the strongest of track records, and given Peca's background, this could be a great opportunity for him in the long run.