Acquired in a franchise-altering trade, hard-hitting captain Michael Peca led the Islanders through a season of magical highs and painful lows. Peca wasn’t the biggest player on the ice, but his knack for clutch goals, big checks and leadership helped the Islanders to their best season since the Dynasty years. Along the way, he became the first Islander to win the NHL’s Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward and he won an Olympic gold medal. And of course, no discussion of the 2001-02 season would be complete without a look at the Islanders’ brutal, punishing playoff against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the injury Peca sustained that changed the course of the series.
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