The Syracuse Crunch have acquired forward Matthew Peca from the Springfield Thunderbirds in exchange for defenseman Wyatt Newpower.
Peca, in his fifth season with the Thunderbirds and third as captain, has tallied eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points in 49 games in 2025-26. He also competed for Team Canada at the 2025 Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland, recording one goal and one assist in three games.
Peca is on the second year of a two-year AHL contracts signed with Springfield on Mar. 13, 2024. He returns to Syracuse, where he spent his first three pro seasons and helped the Crunch reach the Calder Cup Finals in 2017.
Last season, Peca set career highs with 31 goals and 63 points and was voted a First Team AHL All-Star. He has totaled 124 goals and 267 assists for 391 points in 530 career AHL games with Springfield, Belleville, Laval and Syracuse.
Originally a seventh-round choice by Tampa Bay in the 2011 NHL Draft, Peca has recorded six goals and 15 assists for 21 points in 83 career NHL games with the Lightning, Montreal, Ottawa and St. Louis.
Newpower is a sixth-year pro who has tallied two goals and six assists in 44 games between Syracuse and Iowa this season.
In 256 career AHL games with Syracuse, Iowa, Bridgeport, Grand Rapids and Cleveland, Newpower has recorded 13 goals and 39 assists for 52 points. He signed a one-year AHL deal with Iowa on July 1, 2025, and was acquired by the Crunch for future considerations on Dec. 28, 2025.
