Q & A: Mike Peluso

[VodkaFish]

Q & A: Mike Peluso

Mike Peluso's numbers quickly let you know what type of player he was. In 458 NHL games, Peluso racked up 1,951 penalty minutes and he remains the last player to reach the 400-PIM mark.

A fan favorite in every city he played in, he was also known for having a ton of heart. Many tough guys get the label automatically, but Peluso truly wore his heart on his sleeve. Despite his reputation as a willing enforcer, the most well-known image of Peluso might actually be him crying on the bench while the Devils were minutes away from winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 1995.

RJ Jones had the opportunity to speak with Peluso about his hockey career, how it started, and how it has continued since his playing days ended.

Full

[Colt Seavers]

Vodka should be credited with alot of the work. Outstanding job!

[NJDevils17]

Excellent work VF, RJ, JayC, and whoever else made this interview possible!

Peluso was one of my favorite players and fighters of all time. I really enjoyed it!

[Scarred]

Loved the interview!

[PKisel34]

This brought back a lot of memories.
-The Twist KO
-Peluso getting kneed by Kaminski and chasing him all the way behind the goal and pummeling him
-Watching Hawks games on Sportschannel, that stadium was awesome, when they scored the building shook the TV cameras. Talon and Foley were great.
-Playing NHL on Sega and trying to have as many fights as possible, had to use the Hawks with Grimson and Peluso
-As a Ranger fan Adam Graves became my hero the day he beat Peluso up in '92, sorry Mike
-Possibly strangest of all, during a Devils game around '95 during a stoppage they had a close up of Peluso with a graphic on the bottom of the screen. Usually they show their stats, or a streak they are on. This one read, Mike Peluso LW "denies being the subject of Alannis Morisette's 'You Oughta Know'"
Hysterical.
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Anyway always respected Peluso even though he was a rival. Let it all hang out during fights. Huge heart. I was so excited when he came to the Rangers but had to leave the game for good during the preseason.

[Colt Seavers]

If you read Bernsteins "The Code" , then many of you may remember Peluso talking about his knockdown of Tony Twist when he was with the IHLs Indianapolis Ice. Twist was sporting a black eye during the entire 3 game series. Mikes team rallied from that to sweep Twists Peoria Rivermen in 3 games.

[Mike Kole]

Great interview, RJ! I like how much Peluso had to say. Real full, meaty answers there!

I think the most insightful thing he discussed was the effect being able to be sent to the minors at any time made the game tougher. That's an excellent insight.

You can see remnants of this today, when teams have 2-3 guys battling for the #6 or #7 d slot, and they fight more to win their coach over.

[Solution77]

nice interview...


i heard from a couple dif people that played hockey/went to school with mike, said he was an asshole fight starter bar brawler

i always wondered if it was true...

[SGrimson23]

I was a Blackhawks season ticket holder during the 1990 to 1991 season and remember it and the stadium well. It is always nice to see a player express the same feelings for the barn that so many of the fans had.

Peluso appears to be an interesting character. Some pretty brazen statements made here, but all within the confines of the type of character you expect any true brawler of his day to be.

Most interesting, however, is that of all the guys from his Hawks days that he mentions, Stu Grimson is not among them. At the time he and Stu were viewed by fans as big battle buddies. Clearly must not be the case, given the only mention Grimson gets is that he ended Mike's career with a hit from behind. I had no memory of that whatsoever. Would sure like to know the story on the two of them.

[DrewPac5877]

Nice interview. I enjoyed how the questions lined up chronologicallywith his career. I understand the need to be respectful but I thought a lot of the questions were softballs and as a result a lot of his answers were pretty vague.

I would have liked to see some questions regarding what his strategies were for different opponents. Whether or not he thinks it's an advantage to be a left fighting mostly righties. How fighting became more difficult in the 90's because more players started becoming proficient with both hands instead of being strictly righties or lefties. Or maybe whether it's more dangerous to fight left-on righty as there is more chance of landing or suffering a clean shot (the Twist KO for example.) Or maybe even question his tactic of jumping players and landing lefts immediately and then falling to the ice.

But anyway, thanks for the great interview. I look forward to more.

[Colt Seavers]

Originally Posted by DrewPac5877

Nice interview. I enjoyed how the questions lined up chronologicallywith his career. I understand the need to be respectful but I thought a lot of the questions were softballs and as a result a lot of his answers were pretty vague.

I would have liked to see some questions regarding what his strategies were for different opponents. Whether or not he thinks it's an advantage to be a left fighting mostly righties. How fighting became more difficult in the 90's because more players started becoming proficient with both hands instead of being strictly righties or lefties. Or maybe whether it's more dangerous to fight left-on righty as there is more chance of landing or suffering a clean shot (the Twist KO for example.) Or maybe even question his tactic of jumping players and landing lefts immediately and then falling to the ice.

But anyway, thanks for the great interview. I look forward to more.

I guarantee you wouldn't have ventured very far with simple one dimensional questions laced with condenscending sarcasm. Otherwise, thanks for the compliment.

[Walt]

Thanks for the interview David and rj. They are one of the best parts of this site.

Man, I'll never forget those Hawks-Stars battles. I had season tix at the old Met and the Saturday night/Sunday night "home and home" matchups were classics. A couple of times my buddies and I decided after a Saturday nght game in Bloomington that we'd drive down to Chicago for the Sunday night game at the great old Chicago Stadium. Those games were great .... the organ, cool knowledgable fans and two tough teams. But God, I hated that horn they blew everytime the Hawks scored.

Peluso is a cool guy and was a pretty good player too. He threw those lefts with abandon and fared pretty well in an era where every team had three or four legitimate badasses.

Good memories!

[sunny8]

Mike would be the first to say he doesn't fight off the ice. Imagine every loser trying to be a hero and challenging you in a bar because you were tough on the ice. Mike got that steady and dealt with it accordingly. If you don't know things you should keep your mouth shut, Solution77. Don't assume.

[twennyfoe]

Great read.

FYI The Kaminski fight can be seen here:

YouTube - Peluso vs Kaminski

[DrewPac5877]

Originally Posted by rjman48

I guarantee you wouldn't have ventured very far with simple one dimensional questions laced with condenscending sarcasm. Otherwise, thanks for the compliment.

Actually - I don't think any of my questions were laced with sarcasm. Not one of them. I don't think they are one-dimensional either. Some of them are technical questions regarding his viewpoints or experiences with hockey fighting. Peluso was almost completely a left hander - did he feel that opened him up for cleaner shots from a rightie (The Twist KO?) In his eyes, did he see fighters evolve to be proficient with both hands towards the end of his career?

What does he think about his reputation as being a guy that likes to get the jump on opponents? Can you name off the top of your head how many square-offs you've seen Peluso in? I can't think of any. Not one. And I watched him consistently in 95-96 when he was with NJ. My own theory is because of the dangers of getting caught with a right bomb Peluso went in fast, throwing lefts and trying to land the first big one. I can't name very many Peluso fights that are longer than 20 seconds. Was his strategy to get in and get out?

Again - I don't think these are disrespectful or laced with sarcasm. I might even venture to say that they show a certain understanding or knowledge of a players career that equally matches an understanding of their career as seen on paper - stats and teams played for. Heck, I would have even asked him about specific bouts or opponents. New Jersey had quote a few tangles with Buffalo during his career. What did he think of Brad May (who also has a rep as a "jumper.") What about Rob Ray and his jersey antics - Peluso actually fought Ray in the playoffs in 94 I believe and Ray was sweaterless. Some reports from back then have players saying May was the better fighter until he wrecked his shoulder, and that Ray actually became a better fighter once he stopped relying oh his jersey antics.

But again, thanks for seeking out the opportunity and conducting the interview, and then transcribing the whole thing for us. People that do these things are passionate about it. What's not to like about someone who is doing something that they are passionate about?