But the Bruins veteran forward showed on Saturday that he still can toss the knuckles when needed as the now 42-year-old Recchi added another fighting major to his impressive NHL resume.
Recchi tangled with Ottawa defenseman Chris Campoli at 12:14 of the third period. It was an effort to spark a Bruins team that struggled to get much of anything going all night long.
"It was heat of battle, I was just trying to get some emotion going," said Recchi. "It's just one of those things, emotion gets the best of you and you go at it. … There was still some time left, so I figured I could build some momentum with it or something."
Recchi's bout didn't pay immediate dividends as the Bruins still fell 2-0 to the Senators, but it could still have a positive effect on the club down the road as the younger plays see the lengths Recchi is still willing to go to try to do anything to win.
"It was a good job by Rex," said Bruins forward Shawn Thornton. "I knew he could do it. … Obviously it should give you a little extra hop in your step, follow his lead trying to lead by example and show some emotion. I'm sure that's what he was trying to get going."
Thornton usually handles most of the fisticuffs for the Bruins, though Recchi joked that he felt he had to start dropping the gloves because Thornton, who already has three goals this season, had taken over his role as a scorer.
"If only that were the case, but I didn't bury my chances tonight," said Thornton, who clanged one shot off the post. "Rex does everything he can to lead by example. He's just a natural leader, and that's a part of it right there."
Recchi is 16 years older than Campoli, but the age issue is never a concern with Recchi.
"I don't think about that when I'm on the ice ever," said Recchi. "I still think I'm 25 and I still act like it, or try to anyway.
"I'm part of this team too regardless of my age," added Recchi. "I'm a leader on this team and I've got to be there emotionally for everybody. If I feel I can spark something, then I'll do it."
Recchi proved that by initiating the fight, asking Campoli to go after a battle in front of the net.
"I asked him to go first," said Recchi. "I've challenged him lots before and he never went, so I was kind of surprised when he did, but I was glad when he did."
The fight itself wasn't exactly an epic slugfest, as neither player was able to land many clean shots on the other as they each had visors on protecting their faces, but it was still an important statement. And an enjoyable one for Recchi, who noted he used to fight a lot more in his younger days.
But he had gone more than six years since his last donnybrook, which was before the last owners' lockout on March 5, 2004. Recchi, then with Philadelphia, fought Bryan Smolinski that night in a wild series of brawls between the Flyers and Senators. In the final 1:45 of that game alone there were 11 fights, with Bruins captain Zdeno Chara and current Senators Chris Neil, Mike Fisher and Jason Spezza all picking up fighting majors as well.
"That was the big brawl game," said Recchi. "There were like five 5-on-5 [fights]. It was a huge brawl. It was fun."
Saturday's bout had its enjoyable moments as well, though the fun was tempered by the final score of the game.
The fight did allow Recchi to finally reach the 1,000 penalty-minute plateau. With his first penalty of the season, Recchi finally becomes the 30th player in NHL history to surpass both 1,000 PIMs and 1,000 points. As with any penalty-minute milestone, it seems only fitting that it came in the five-minute chunk with the gloves dropped.
"I don't think he wanted to get it with a trip, that's for sure," said Thornton.
