Bruins Officially Sign Recchi To One-Year Extension

The Bruins have officially signed Mark Recchi to a one-year extension.

There’s not much left for winger Mark Recchi to accomplish in his Hall of Fame career, but that didn’t stop the 42-year old ‘Recching Ball’ from coming back for a third round with the Boston Bruins. Signing of a one-year extension worth one million dollars with nearly a half-million more in various incentive, Recchi’s return to the club in Boston shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone in the Hub.

Originally acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2009 for Providence Bruin Martins Karsums along with former-highly-touted blue-line prospect Matt Lashoff, Recchi’s tenure in Boston was supposed to be a brief run to provide some Cup experience to a team lacking in playoff experience up front.

Recchi would make an instant impression on Bruins fans when he scored two goals against the Chicago Blackhawks in his second game as a Bruin on March 7th, 2009 and would exemplify the qualities of a natural leader while helping B’s center Patrice Bergeron regain his offensive swagger in the process. Finishing with 22 points in 29 games including the playoffs and playing in Game 7 against Carolina a night after having surgery to remove kidney-stones, Recchi’s regained energy resulted in the winger returning to Boston for what he deemed a “final-go” at hoisting Lord Stanley.

Returning to Boston and becoming a staple as an alternate-captain for the B’s, the vocal Recchi was never short of a quote or a swift-kick in the rear for his teammates as the team bumbled for most of the season while the ageless Recchi put up 43 points in 81 games and passed Habs legend Guy LaFleur for 21st all time on the NHL’s goals list. Finishing the season tops among Bruins wingers in points and assists, Recchi headed towards his potential final Stanley Cup Playoff run.

Playing as the Bruins’ most-productive performer in the playoffs with six goals in 13 contests, Recchi realized more than anybody else just how close the Bruins were to the Eastern Conference Finals before slipping in four straight contests.

“It’s up there [the loss].” Recchi said following Game 7. “I’ve had some Game 7s losing in the semifinals, but this one hurts. You don’t get too many chances to get to the third round. We had an opportunity to go to the Stanley Cup, and if we had taken that step, it would have been huge. That’s what we play for.”

Despite the morale-crushing loss, Recchi remained adamant on his desire to return in black-and-gold and continue to aid the Bruins in their attempt to end a 38-year Cup drought. Recchi still believes that the Bruins have the chance to compete for Lord Stanley next season and was quoted as saying the poise of goaltender Tuukka Rask reminds him of the same style of Cam Ward, who Recchi won a Cup with in 2006.

So just what does Recchi bring to the table that makes this deal so good for Boston?

For starters, Recchi is still a valuable contributor to any teams top-nine. He still plays with the spark of a rookie with his hustle and drive to the net, and can be a nuisance to any goaltenders field of vision on the power-play with his screens and redirects. Also providing some much needed veteran leadership on a team desperate for a killer-instinct, something Recchi attributed to their epic collapse in May, Recchi third go-round in the Hub is sure to help the newest Bruin Tyler Seguin adapt to the NHL and perhaps teach fellow undersized winger Brad Marchand a thing or two about how to use his lack of size.

While Recchi will be turning 43-years old next season, the positives of retaining Recchi’s veteran presence outweigh the negatives.

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