Mark Recchi

Mark Louis Recchi (born February 1, 1968) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 22 years in the National Hockey League (NHL), most notably for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. Having previously announced that he would "sail off into the sunset" if Boston were victorious in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, he announced his retirement in the post-game celebration after Boston's Stanley Cup championship.

Playing career
Recchi played his junior hockey for the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League. His number 8 was retired by the team shortly after he left for the NHL. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins, first playing in the NHL 1988, and was a key player on their Stanley Cup winning team in 1991.

The following season he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of a deal that brought Rick Tocchet and Kjell Samuelsson to Pittsburgh. He played for Philadelphia from 1992 to 1995 as part of the "Crazy Eights" line, including a 53-goal, 70-assist, 123-point season in 1992–93, still the Flyers single-season point scoring record. In 1995, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in a deal for Éric Desjardins, Gilbert Dionne and John LeClair, but was reacquired by the Flyers for the 1998–99 season, and was consistently among their top scorers.

During the 1999–2000 season, he was a finalist for the Lester B. Pearson trophy as NHLPA MVP and he finished third in scoring, only 5 points behind Jaromír Jágr. In 2000 and 2004, the Flyers would make the Eastern Conference Finals but they would bow out of each series in seven games.

In 2000, he was named "Kamloops Male Athlete of the 20th Century", and had a street named "Mark Recchi Way" in his honour.

In August 2004, Recchi rejoined the Penguins as a free agent, signing a two-year contract with a two-way option for a third year. The first year was eventually nullified by the NHL lockout; in the second year, with the Penguins languishing at the bottom of the NHL standings, Recchi waived his no-trade clause to be sent to the Stanley Cup-contending Carolina Hurricanes at the deadline for minor-league forward Krystofer Kolanos, left wing Niklas Nordgren, and a 2007 2nd round pick. Recchi won his second Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes that season, and subsequently re-signed with the Penguins during the summer of 2006 off-season.

On January 20, 2007, he scored his 7th career hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and just under a week later, Recchi scored his 500th career goal on January 26, 2007, on the power play against the Dallas Stars.

During the summer of 2007 off-season, Recchi re-signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins for a one year contract that amounted to $2 million, but on December 4 he was placed on waivers and assigned to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, on December 6. The Penguins then placed Recchi on re-entry waivers the next day, where Recchi was claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers. In his first game against his former team, he scored the game winning goal in a shootout.

On July 7, 2008, Recchi then signed a one-year deal as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After scoring 45 points in 62 games with the Lightning in the 2008–09 season and with the Lightning out of playoff contention, Recchi was traded at the trade deadline, along with a second round pick in 2010 to the Boston Bruins for Mārtiņš Karsums and Matt Lashoff, on March 4, 2009. Recchi scored his first two goals for the Bruins three days later on March 7, as the first and third Bruins goals in a 5-3 home ice defeat of the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.

On July 2, 2009, Recchi re-signed with the Bruins to a one-year deal. At the time, Recchi had stated that the 2009–10 season would be his final year. With the retirement of Joe Sakic in the summer of 2009, Recchi became the leader in points and assists among active players. Recchi would serve as an alternate captain during the season while Marc Savard was injured and out of the line-up, playing 81 of 82 games in the 2009–10 season.

During the 2010 playoffs, Recchi became the third oldest player to score a playoff goal, behind Chris Chelios and Gordie Howe, and also became the oldest player to have a multi-goal game in the playoffs, when he scored two goals in a 5-4 OT loss to Philadelphia in Game 4 of the second round.

After suffering defeat in the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Philadelphia Flyers, instead of retiring Recchi re-signed with the Bruins for a further year. In the 2010–11 season on November 24, 2010, Recchi scored twice against the Florida Panthers to get his 1,500th career point.

In Game 2 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, Recchi became the oldest ever player to score a goal in a Stanley Cup Final, doing so at the age of 43. In Game 3 of the Finals, he scored the final two goals of his career. On June 15, 2011, Recchi became a three-time winner of the Stanley Cup and joined Frank Foyston, Jack Walker, Mike Keane and Joe Nieuwendyk in winning three Stanley Cups with three different teams, as the Bruins defeated Vancouver in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Recchi also led the team in scoring during the Finals. During an interview with Ron MacLean of Hockey Night in Canada after winning the Cup, Recchi announced his retirement as an NHL player, finishing his career 4th all-time in games played and 12th all-time in points.

Recchi was the last player active in professional hockey who had played in the NHL in the 1980s.

Personal life
Mark is married to Alexa. They have three children together; daughter Christina and sons Cameron and Austin.

Awards and achievements

 * 1987–88: West First All-Star Team (WHL)
 * 1988–89: Second All-Star Team (IHL)
 * 1990–91: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 1990–91: Won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
 * 1991–92: Second All-Star Team (NHL)
 * 1992–93: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 1993–94: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 1996–97: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 1996–97: All-Star Game MVP (NHL)
 * 1997–98: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 1998–99: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 1999–2000: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 2005-06: Won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)
 * 2010-11: Won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins (NHL)

Records

 * Second longest span between Stanley Cup wins (1991–2006), at fifteen years.
 * His 123 points (53 goals, 70 assists) in the 1992–1993 season is the Flyers regular season scoring record.
 * Oldest player to record 5 assists in a game on March 1, 2009, at 41 years, 28 days.
 * 13th player in NHL history to score 1,500 points during his career.
 * Oldest player to score a Stanley Cup Finals goal on June 6, 2011, at 43 years, 126 days.
 * Second oldest player to hoist the Stanley Cup after Chris Chelios.
 * One of only ten players in modern day NHL history to win the Stanley Cup with three different teams.

NHL transactions

 * On February 19, 1992: Traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins with Brian Benning and a first round pick in the 1992 draft (Jason Bowen) to the Philadelphia Flyers for Kjell Samuelsson, Rick Tocchet and Ken Wregget.
 * On February 9, 1995: Traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Montreal Canadiens for Éric Desjardins, John LeClair and Gilbert Dionne.
 * On March 10, 1999: Traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the Philadelphia Flyers for Dainius Zubrus, a second round pick in the 1999 draft (Matt Carkner) and a sixth round pick in the 2000 draft.
 * On March 9, 2006: Traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Carolina Hurricanes for Niklas Nordgren, Krystofer Kolanos and a second round pick in the 2007 draft.
 * On December 4, 2007: Placed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins
 * On December 6, 2007: Assigned to the Pittsburgh Penguins American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, after clearing waivers.
 * On December 7, 2007: Claimed off re-entry waivers by the Atlanta Thrashers.
 * On March 4, 2009: Traded to the Boston Bruins from the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2010 second round pick, for D Matt Lashoff and F Mārtiņš Karsums.
 * On June 15, 2011: Retired from the National Hockey League