National Hockey League News: Mark Recchi extends contract with the Boston Bruins
It wasn’t exactly official when the Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli indicated that right winger Mark Recchi would be signing with the Bruins for another season. However, the Bruins have made it official that the alternate captain will continue with the Boston Bruins. Mark Recchi has signed a 1 million dollar contract with the Bruins for his 22nd season and second season with the Bruins. With incentives, however, the deal could be worth more than 1 million.
The 42-year-old Recchi claimed that he had been considering retiring in the past two weeks but added that he loves playing the game so much that he just couldn’t retire. He said, “Why not play as long as I'm enjoying it?” Recchi expressed a sense of excitement at having the opportunity to play with the Boston Bruins once again. He believed that the Bruins were headed in the right direction and that this season would be a “special” experience for him.
In his last season with the Bruins after leaving the Tampa Bay Lightning in March 2009, Recchi amassed 18 goals and 25 assists in addition to his 6 goals and 4 assists in the 13 playoff games. Recchi is the second oldest player in the league after the 48-year-old Chris Chelios.
The Bruins General Manager Chiarelli has not failed to grasp what the experienced player can bring to the team and didn’t waste any time in signing Recchi. Recchi said that Chiarelli was adamant about bringing him back to the Bruins and in contrast to last year’s negotiations, it did not take much time this year because Chiarelli already had an idea of what his team looked like, what it needed and what was required to make it even better.
Chiarelli made it abundantly clear of how much he valued Recchi’s experience. One of the reasons he wanted Recchi was because of his ability to groom and guide younger players. Chiarelli said, “He is a hall-of-famer to be”. He further added that Recchi was looking forwards in helping the younger players. Mark Recchi, with his experience, would be an invaluable asset in this regard. Recchi shared his sentiments as well. The right-winger said that he was looking forward to working with and mentoring the 18-year-old Tyler Seguin, who was taken in by the Boston Bruins as the number 2 draft pick last week.
“I think it's wonderful. Anytime you can get a kid like that, they're franchise players”, Recchi said. The player added that that the youngster has a tremendous learning opportunity and could play an important part for the Bruins in the middle with dynamic players like Bergeron, Savard and Krejci supporting him. Recchi said that Tyler could learn and grow without feeling too pressurized. While taking on the role of a mentor, Recchi did say that he would like to have another experienced player to share the leadership responsibility with.
Recchi lived with a sense of unfinished business. The Bruin’s last season ended unflatteringly at the merciless hands of the Philadelphia Flyers. Recchi said that he had never been more disappointed than he was with how their season ended. Also influencing his decision to sign with the Bruins was his great relationship with Patrice Bergeron and the rest of the Bruins. “The core of the guys that we have on this hockey club was a big reason”, Recchi said.
Recchi entered the National Hockey League in the 1988/89 season and is a seven-time all-star leading active players with 922 assists and is second with 563 goals. In his playoff career, he completed 56 goals and 77 assists in 164 games. He won the Stanley Cup twice, first with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and then with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. He stands at the ninth spot for the most NHL games played with a whopping number of 1,571 games. However, after another full season, Recchi could move up as high as the fourth position in the table.
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