Peca Signs with the Blue Jackets

Well, after weeks of trying to drum up interest in Toronto and with the Rangers, Michael Peca's agent Don Meehan finally convinced Columbus to sign the oft-injured center and former Islanders captain.

For the Blue Jackets, this move makes a ton of sound, inexpensive hockey sense. They are a young team screaming for veteran leadership. Peca and Adam Foote should be helpful showing guys like Rick Nash the way to winning hockey. Nash, who has had his commitment and his passion for the game questioned, will hopefully reach his potential with guys like Peca to take some of the leadership burden off of his shoulders.

One thing worth noting is that it is fair to wonder about Peca's physical health. The extensive leg fracture that shortened his season last year was bad enough but let's not forget the leg injury he suffered through thanks to Darcy Tucker when he was the Islanders' captain. Add to that various shoulder and hip problems, there is more than enough evidence for any team to question Peca’s game at this point of his career. My guess is that this laundry list of maladies is what kept the Rangers from sealing the deal that Meehan thought he had for his client to join the blueshirts.

I was very glad that Garth Snow and the Islanders Brain Trust didn't make a move to bring back Peca after buying out Alexei Yashin. We all know that Peca and Yashin were not exactly supportive teammates while both were on the Island and while it is easy to point fingers in retrospect, there's no reason to lay blame two or three years down the line. Whatever the reason, the guys didn't get along and that fractured the room. You can speculate all you want about the organization and the team all that you want but in the end, when the two highest-paid players on the squad are feuding, it can never be a good thing.