Mark Recchi already has his name in the history books of the Philadelphia Flyers. Now his name will forever be in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers will be inducting Recchi into their Hall of Fame when the team takes on the Boston Bruins on Jan 27. Paul Holmgren and Rick Tocchet were the most recent inductees back in 2021. So it has been a few seasons since the Flyers have given anyone the prestigious honor.
It was after the Flyers Fantasy Alumni Camp that Recchi received the news. Brad Marsh reached out about getting the players together on a call to figure out some improvements. It was then that Keith Jones was also on the call and the news about Recchi being inducted was brought up.
"”It was a great feeling. I mean, there’s nothing better than that when you get recognized like that. I loved being a Flyer and I do a lot of alumni stuff with the group still. It’s been truly a special honor to get inducted. I’m the 20th guy, there’s not a lot of guys, and that’s an unreal feeling to get that and to feel that way.” Recchi said during a zoom press conference on Thursday afternoon."
It’s a perfect opponent for Recchi to be in the building for as he finished his career in Boston, winning his third Stanley Cup in the process. Recchi’s career spanned 22 years and with seven different teams. The Flyers were the team he spent the longest amount of time with. He was with Philadelphia for parts of eight plus and had two separate stints with the team. Recchi holds the record for the most points in Flyers’ history, registering 123 points during the 1992-93 season. Bobby Clarke had the previous mark of 119 points.
"“To beat Bobby Clarke’s record, to me, is incredible. I grew up watching him. To know what type of player he is and get to know him and what type of person he is, to be around him on a day-to-day basis, was unreal. To be able to get ahead of him was pretty surreal and pretty amazing.”"
Speaking of Clarke, he and Recchi are the only two players in Flyers history to put up multiple 100+ point seasons. Recchi’s 395 assists rank sixth in team history. His 627 points and 39 game-winning goals are ninth. Putting up an average of 1.04 points per game ranks him fifth all-time with the Flyers.
While Recchi’s first stint with the Flyers was during a sort of rebuilding period, his second came with a team that was primed to make a few runs to the Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately, they would lose twice in the Eastern Conference Final in seven games to the team that would end up winning the Stanley Cup.
"”My favorite moments were the two runs we had with the organization and with the players we had. We were a really tight group, really enjoyed each other. We were a team that if we felt we got to the finals, we had an opportunity to win champions. We just didn’t quite get there. Those to me are my favorite moments because when you get those special bonds with a group of guys and the feeling you have in the dressing room every day, it’s really awesome. Those moments to me are what kind of make everything.”"
After his final season with the Bruins in 2011, Recchi would go on to join the Dallas Stars as a consultant in 2013. Following that, he spent some time in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. He was first a player development coach in 2014 and was later promoted in 2017 to director of player development. A month after that, he was named an assistant coach after the departure of Rick Tocchet. Following the 2019-20 season, the Penguins would not renew his contract. He ended up moving on to the New Jersey Devils where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach before being let go after the 2021-22 season.
Recchi didn’t rule out a return to the hockey world. In fact, he mentioned wanting to get back into things. The management side is where he’d like to go, unless something jumps out to him when it comes to coaching.
The Flyers have brought back names like John Leclair, Patrick Shark and Keith Jones. The organization is entering a much needed rebuild and Recchi shared nothing but excitement for where he thinks this new group of people can take the Flyers.
"“I’m really excited with Keith and Danny Briere and Torts and Johnny and Sharpy. They understand the culture that needs to be a successful organization and be a winning organization. They’re taking those steps. I’ve spent a lot of time with the alumni stuff with them and I just think they’ve already done a terrific job. They’ve been open and honest right now which is perfect. They’re in a rebuild, they’re gonna rebuild this franchise and they’re gonna do it right and they’re gonna take their time and do it the proper way.”"