Mark Recchi was the second of two key 2005-06 Hurricanes acquisitions aimed specifically at winning the 2006 Stanley Cup. First, Canes general manager bid aggressively and early to win Doug Weight a full month before the trade deadline. Weight added veteran scoring depth and further fueled the feel good vibe and momentum heading into the second half of the season. But the positive momentum took a huge hit on March 4, 2006 when Erik Cole was drilled headfirst into the boards by Brooks Orpik causing what was expected to be a season-ending injury. Two days later Rutherford doubled down on his initial investment in Doug Weight by adding Mark Recchi to help fill the hole left by Erik Cole’s injury. In addition to being a replacement for Cole, Recchi’s impressive resume included 110 games of NHL playoff experience that included a Stanley Cup victory.
In a short 20-game tune up and settling in, Recchi notched four goals and three assists in closing out the regular season with the Carolina Hurricanes.
But the real work and the reason for his acquisition started after that. In the playoffs, Recchi brought a blue collar, physical, difficult to play against style and helped fill out the Canes forward lines. He was a blue collar, lunch pail toting worker but with offensive skill to boot. Recchi was an incredibly good checking forward who also scored. He provided important depth scoring to the tune of nine goals and seven assists in the Canes 25 game run to win the Stanley Cup.
Mark Recchi was there when the team hoisted the Stanley Cup and for the parade that followed but disappeared shortly thereafter per the original script. Though his stint as a Hurricane might have been only a short 3+ months, it was an incredibly successful one that helped deliver hockey’s greatest prize to Raleigh, North Carolina.
Go Canes!
