Throughout his career, Mike Peca has played a big game in terms of leadership, heart, tenacity, and a willingness to use his body. He started his solid junior career with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL where he played for two seasons before joining the Ottawa 67's in 1992. In the nation's capital, Peca turned his game up to the top levels, scoring 113 points in only 55 games. His scoring prowess and feisty play won him a four-game stint with the Vancouver Canucks, who had secured his rights at the 1992 NHL Entry Draft after he was taken 40th overall. A member of Canada's gold medal World Junior team in 1994, Peca returned for 38 more games in 1994-95 before Vancouver management succumbed to a desire to pry Alexander Mogilny away from the Sabres. To do so they had to give up on Peca before they'd determined exactly what they had. The Sabres soon found out what they got. In Peca they secured a hard-working team leader who excelled at defensive play, special teams, and scoring short-handed goals. In 1997, he won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward.



By 1998, Peca was appointed as the Sabres' team captain, and led the Sabres to the Stanley Cup final in 1999 before losing out to the Dallas Stars. After sitting out the entire 2000-01 season, due to a contract dispute with Sabres management, Peca was finally traded to the New York Islanders in the summer of 2001. Prior to joining the Islanders, Peca captained Canada's World Championship team at the 2001 World Championships in Germany and in his first season with the Isles, led them to their first playoff appearance since the 1994-95 season. Although the Islanders lost in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a hard hitting seven game series, Peca's performance throughout the regular season did not go without reward, as he captured his second Frank J. Selke Trophy. After missing the early part of the 2002-03 season recovering from knee surgery, Peca still managed to compile 42 points and continued to be a leader on the ice for the Isles until being dealt to the Edmonton Oilers in the summer of 2005.