Blue Jackets hire Hall of Famer to help replace Babcock

Longtime NHL player Mark Recchi has been added to the Columbus Blue Jackets' coaching staff under new head coach Pascal Vincent.

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From the Blue Jackets' official press release announcement:

The Columbus Blue Jackets have added Mark Recchi to Head Coach Pascal Vincent’s staff as an assistant coach.  The longtime NHL forward spent parts of 10 seasons with the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils organizations, including 2017-22 as an assistant coach for the Penguins and Devils.

“Mark Recchi has been part of the National Hockey League for over three decades and brings an incredible amount of experience to our staff,” said Vincent.  “He is a Hall of Fame player who won three Stanley Cup championships, which combined with his coaching experience, will make him a great resource for our players.  We are excited to have him in Columbus.”

"I’m thrilled that we have added a person of Mark Recchi’s talent and insight to our coaching staff," said Vincent.  “Mark adds a wealth of knowledge as a player and a coach, both in development and as an assistant, to our group that will be instrumental in helping our organization grow on and off the ice.  His expertise in the offensive zone and on the power play, specifically, will be a huge benefit for our club.”

Recchi, 55, was a seven-time All-Star (1997 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player) who racked up 577 goals and 956 assists for 1,533 points with 1,033 penalty minutes in 1,652 career NHL games with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Montreal, Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Boston from 1988-2011. He currently ranks eighth on the NHL’s all-time games played list, 13^th in points and 15^th in assists. The Kamloops, British Columbia native added 61-86-147 and 93 penalty minutes in 189 career games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 2011, he became the eighth player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to win three Stanley Cup championships with three different teams (Pittsburgh-1991, Carolina-2006, Boston-2011). He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

Following his playing career, Recchi spent parts of two seasons as a senior adviser with the Dallas Stars.  In 2014, he was named development coach for the Penguins and served in that capacity for three seasons, including the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Stanley Cup-winning campaigns.  He then served three seasons as an assistant coach with the club before joining New Jersey’s coaching staff in 2020 and spending two seasons as an assistant with the Devils.  Since 2007, he has been part-owner of the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers, where he played from 1986-88.

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