SUNRISE, Fla. -- As is often the case, Mike Milbury hasn't taken the safe
route to rebuilding his team.
Milbury followed up his Saturday acquisition of Alexei Yashin by
trading for unsigned free agent Michael Peca on Sunday, a pair of moves that could put the Islanders in playoff contention.
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Peca, who sat out all of last season after failing to negotiate
a deal with the Sabres, was dealt for 19-year-old winger Taylor Pyatt
and 20-year-old center Tim Connolly. They were the eighth- and fifth-overall
selections in the draft just two years ago.
Dumping them seems to follow form for the historically impatient Milbury,
but this time, his release of undeveloped talent seems well worth the trouble.
Peca, 28, is one of the best two-way centers in the league. His was the most
publicized sitting strike since Yashin's holdout from Ottawa the season
before.
Now both problematic players are with an Islanders team that hasn't made
the playoffs in seven years. Both also are unsigned restricted
free agents, and Milbury admitted yesterday that he hadn't rolled out a
welcome mat to either one of them yet.
"I've not talked to either player as yet, and I know that's not the best
scenario to go into with Group II players," said Milbury. "But in the case of
these two individuals, both of whom have had to forfeit entire seasons, it's
going to make them realize that we need to somehow make a deal, and that's
what we intend to do.
"The sales pitch for us is a lot easier today than it was two days ago.
These two guys alone bring a lot to the table and they can make us an
exciting team. Our new owners are committed to moving ahead and willing to
put some serious assets on the table. We have a lot of pieces in place to be
a seriously competitive team this season. That'll appeal to all the players."
It already does to Peca, who said he didn't take his decision to stay at
home last season lightly, and still doesn't.
"I can't really say I have regrets," Peca said. "Life would be great if
you could go through it without having to make tough decisions. And going
through this process, I think I had to make a couple of them. But today is a
day that made up for it a bit."
Although Islanders owners Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar took over with
blustery proclamations of tight economics, the word heading into this draft
was that their rules and wallets could be relaxed for any star player willing
to join up.
Perhaps it won't be so tough to welcome in Yashin and Peca, after all.
"I don't foresee that to be any problem," Peca said. "I believe I'm going
to be in training camp next season."
Peca said his eagerness to be a member -- and probably soon the captain --
of the Islanders extends beyond business.
"The unfortunate thing in professional sports nowadays is you don't have
players wanting to go to a place trying to make a difference," said Peca.
"Players just want everything hunky-dory and go into a good situation for
them. But there's a lot of pride and satisfaction in going into a situation
and helping it turn around.
"I look at this organization as one that has a great tradition and
history. Being a kid who grew up watching Mike Bossy, I can't tell you how
excited I am to be a part of this organization right now."
Peca was excitable last season, too, when in trying to push Sabres general
manager Darcy Regier into trading him, he accused his former boss of being
vindictive, heartless, mean and petty.
"I don't have a bitter bone in my body over this situation," Regier said.
"I never have. I keep reading the reports and I'm not gonna live long enough
to be bitter. It's an unfortunate part of our business nowadays. It involves
good human beings in this case, and we wish him the best."
Though the future for Milbury's team always seems to be on a yearly basis,
his sentiments after this busy weekend were understandably optimistic.
"We have suffered a long time on Long Island," said Milbury. "We thought
we were totally lacking in the leadership department and that's been
addressed. We've been looking for strong help in the middle for a long time
and we think we've got that as well."
Negotiations between Peca and the Sabres fell apart early last
autumn and quickly stalled, even after Peca lowered his demands
from $4 million a season to about $3.5 million.
The Sabres didn't budge from their initial offer of about $2.5
million until after Peca announced that he would no longer play for
the team.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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