Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Pec-ing Order

The Jackets signed Michael Peca yesterday to an alleged base salary of $1.25 million. His spot on the roster replaces the defecting Alexander Svitov who bolted back to Russia last week.

Peca, like Fedorov, is a defensive forward. Having him in the lineup will bring some additional physical play and some additional defensive skill to the back end of the ice. The centerman could be the spark fans have been looking for during this quiet offseason.

Peca's resume spans 11 seasons and 728 NHL games. His reputation is for tough play, "work ethic, and competitiveness", according to this morning's Dispatch. His stats in the Dispatch also state that he has 12 playoff appearances in those 11 sesaons. I'm guessing an injury or other debilitation kept him out of play til April one season.

I'm excited to see a new face in the Jackets' lineup, though the signing of another aged veteran gives me some cause for concern. Fedorov, Foote, and Berard have all been overpaid busts for the Jackets. Let's hope our new GM is taking this a calculated risk.

Photo from www.playoffbeard.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I knew when Hitchcock took over the dreams of someday watching an exciting team were over. Now they sign Peca. Defence, Defence, Defence! This team needs to score some goals! They have already proven to be a very good team if they score three goals. My memory isn't perfect so I don't know their exact record, but how many times have we done the chili chant and lost? Not many. With this signing it is clear the CBJ plan is to attempt to win games by a score of 2 - 1 all season. As a fan, I want to see goals. We don't need another defencive center!