The image you see above is a painful one to look at, particularly if you happen to be a Canucks fan, as those who read this blog know about me. However, this piece is not about my pain, but rather a man who made it in the NHL for over 20 years. It isn't often that a player gets to retire on top, let alone, be on top three different times. That is exactly what the ageless wonder Mark Recchi is doing after winning his third Stanley Cup last Wendesday, this time with the Boston Bruins. One of the more underappreciated players in the league, all he did was end up 12th on the all time NHL scoring list, play for three Stanley Cup teams (Pittsburgh in 1991, Carolina in 2006, and Boston in 2011), and reinvent his game for the benefit of the younger generation later in his career (just ask Bryan Little, who had a career year after an apprenticeship in Recchi's time in Atlanta, and Brad Marchand). Recchi was never the premier player on any team, but ask any team he's ever played for, and the odds are he was just as important as the man at the top, be it Mario Lemieux, Eric Lindros, Eric Staal, or Tim Thomas. Recchi is a certain first ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible in 2014, a tribute to his ability to be there day in and day out and his penchant for wanting to win, and that's all you can ask for out of a player.
No comments:
Post a Comment