Welcome to our series on who wore each number best for the Penguins.
The idea is being openly borrowed from our new hockey writer, Cody Tucker, and his project at the Lansing State Journal covering all the uniform numbers worn through Michigan State football history, one that's been well received by their readers and prompted heavy discussion and debate.
Under the organization of Taylor Haase, and following the voting of a big chunk of our staff, we'll publish one new one each day until completion, which should be right around the start of training camp.
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Name: Mark Recchi
Number: 8
Position: Right wing
Born: Feb. 1, 1968 in Kamloops, British Columbia
Seasons with Penguins: 1988-92, 2005-06, 2006-07
Statistics with Penguins: 389 games, 154 goals, 231 assists in regular season, 29 games, 10 goals, 28 assists in playoffs
WHY RECCHI?
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Recchi once said if he weren't a hockey player he would have liked to have been the second baseman for the Seattle Mariners. The thing with the Baseball Hall of Fame is you're inducted wearing the hat of the team you're most synonymous with. Recchi played for seven different teams and won the Stanley Cup with three of them, becoming only the 11th player to do so. It could be argued that he enjoyed his best seasons elsewhere but Recchi is best remembered with the Penguins -- a team he played three different stints with -- and the No. 8.
The short and stocky "Recchin' Ball" burst on the scene in 1988 as part of a core of young Penguins determined to lift the organization from the dregs of the NHL. He recorded 30 goals as a rookie and followed it up with a 40-goal, 113-point season in 1990-91 to lead Pittsburgh and finish fourth in the league. That same year he helped the franchise win its first Stanley Cup by recording 34 points in 24 playoff games, trailing only Mario Lemieux.
In Game 6 of the Wales Conference Final against Boston, Recchi scored the series-winning goal:
The following season he was dealt to Philadelphia in a trade that brought Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson and Ken Wregget to Pittsburgh. The latter three would help the Penguins win back-to-back championships.
Recchi enjoyed his best seasons with the Flyers and Canadiens but Pittsburgh always remained his home. He re-signed with the Penguins in July of 2004 but would have to wait until the end of the 2004-05 lockout before making his return at age 37. Recchi was reunited with Lemieux and rookie Sidney Crosby, who he assisted on his first career goal.
In his later years, Recchi played two more stints with the Penguins. In March of 2006, he was dealt to Carolina where he helped Jim Rutherford's Hurricanes with their first Stanley Cup. In 2011, at age 42, he was a veteran presence who helped Boston end its 39-year Cup drought. He retired days later after 1,652 games, the fifth-most in league history.
In 2017, after three years of eligibility, Recchi was finally granted induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?
Recchi, 50, is currently an assistant coach to Mike Sullivan and is in charge of the team's forwards, including Crosby. Ironically he replaced Tocchet, who took over head coaching duties in Arizona after helping Pittsburgh to consecutive Cup championships. Before going behind the bench, he joined the Penguins front office in July of 2014 where he spent the past three seasons as the team's player development coach.
IT WAS SPOKEN
“I grew up in a small town, and Pittsburgh has a great small-town feel, even though it's a couple million people. It just has that nice feel.” -- Recchi, on why he has stayed.
“For a young guy like me coming in, it was good to have guys like him around. I think he played every position on the power play that year and played on the point a lot. He had a great shot. Just really good hockey sense. He could really do it all. It's cool to be able to say I played with him.” -- Sidney Crosby on Recchi
HONORABLE MENTIONS AT NO. 8
Brian Dumoulin
Val Fonteyne
Terry Ruskowski
Any debate?
The nod for now goes to Recchi but there's a good chance that Dumoulin could make No. 8 his own. Dumoulin has two Stanley Cup rings in Pittsburgh to Recchi's one. But Recchi's contribution to the first Cup run in 1991 was too large to overlook.
Tomorrow: Chris Bradford has No. 9.
Yesterday: Joey Mullen
