Mark Recchi Completes Rare Hat Trick, Facing a Former Club for Third Time This Postseason As Bruins Take on Tampa
But even he was taken aback by the fact that for the third straight playoff series this spring, he'll be facing off against a team that he used to play for when the Bruins take on Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference final. Of course, completing a rare hat trick like that is the kind of thing that can only happen when you've had a career that lasts as long as the remarkable run the Bruins' future Hall of Famer has put together.
"I know," Recchi said. "Thank god I haven't played out West if we get to that point [the Stanley Cup Finals]. But it's good. Obviously I've played on a few teams, but to actually do that in one year, play three teams I'm played on, it's kind of funny."
Recchi has done his fair share of moving around since making his NHL debut with Pittsburgh in 1988, but he's never ventured out of the Eastern Conference. That's led to some matchups with a lot familiar foes this postseason.
The Bruins opened with an epic seven-game showdown against Montreal, where Recchi spent parts of five seasons from 1995-99. He came to the Habs in a trade from Philadelphia, and ended up back with the Flyers in another deal four years later.
Naturally, the Bruins faced the Flyers in the second round after dispatching the Canadiens. Boston swept Philadelphia in four games, setting up the showdown with Tampa Bay in the conference final. Tampa was Recchi's final stop before Boston. It's all added up to an interesting spring of reunions for Recchi.
"[With] Montreal, I didn't really have anybody that I played with there anymore," Recchi said. "Philly, there was only a few guys left. Tampa, there's a few more, probably six guys I played with there. We're all friends, but we all want to do the same thing. We all want to win."
Recchi played just 62 games with Tampa. He signed with the Lightning in 2008 and came to the Bruins along with a second-round pick in exchange for Martins Karsums and Matt Lashoff in a deadline deal on March 4, 2009. But in both his limited time in Tampa and the countless games he's played against the Lightning over the years, Recchi has developed a healthy respect for Tampa's veterans, who already won one Cup back in 2004.
"I've played against them enough that it doesn't really matter," Recchi said of any strangeness playing against his most recent ex-team. "But I know they're competitive guys. They're all competitive and they're led by Marty [St. Louis] and Vinny [Lecavalier] and they compete hard. They play hard and they play the right way. They've won and they know how to win."
Recchi knows a bit about winning, too. He won a Cup with Pittsburgh in 1991 and another with Carolina in 2006. That experience, plus his leadership and continued solid production, have turned Recchi from a deadline rental to one of the longer-tenured Bruins as he competes in his third postseason with the club.
"He just showed so much battle and such a great example and we felt real comfortable asking him to come back [after that first season]," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "And I think the feeling was mutual. He came back and gave us another real good season last year. He's been good for us. We understand he's not the youngest player in the league, but his experience and what he brings to the table day in and day out is something this team really needs, and even this year again, he's been extremely good in the dressing room. The one thing you will never question about him is his work ethic and at this time of year, those guys become extremely important."
The Lightning have changed a lot since Recchi's brief stay there. Jeff Vinik, who is also a minority owner of the Boston Red Sox, purchased the club last year and stabilized a muddled ownership situation. Steve Yzerman was hired as general manager to oversee an overhaul of the hockey operations and Guy Boucher took over behind the bench. Suddenly, a team that finished with the second-worst record in the NHL in the season Recchi played there is back in the conference finals just two years later.
"Stevie Y has done a remarkable job there and the new ownership," Recchi said. "It's been a real good transition. They've made some really smart moves, some good moves and just really stabilized it. When you're stable, it helps. And it's nice to see, because it's a great place to play. Tampa has a good fan base. They get good crowds. I think it's nice that they have things stable and I think they're pretty set for the future."
Recchi just hopes that future is not now. He'd like to help the Bruins get past the Lightning and finally face a team he hasn't played for in the Cup finals.
