No Flyer has scored more points in a single season than Mark Recchi.
On Jan. 27, that feat, along with his impressive Flyers résumé, will be enshrined by the franchise. Prior to its Saturday afternoon game against the Bruins, the organization will induct Recchi into the Flyers Hall of Fame.
It’s a fitting opponent for his induction. Recchi finished his career in Boston, where he earned his third and final Stanley Cup ring. His three Cups were won elsewhere, but Recchi played more games for the Flyers (602) than he did for any other team over his 1,652-game career.
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The winger holds the club's single-season record for points at 123. He set the mark in 1992-93, passing franchise icon Bob Clarke (119).
"To beat Bobby Clarke's record, to me, was incredible. I grew up watching him," Recchi said Thursday in a Zoom press conference. "To know what type of player he is, to get to know him and what type of person he is, to be around him on a day-to-day basis, was unreal. To be able to get ahead of him was pretty surreal and pretty amazing."
Recchi ranks sixth in the organization's history with 395 assists. He scored 1.04 points per game wearing a Flyers sweater, just behind Clarke's 1.06. Eric Lindros leads the way in that category at 1.36.
Recchi and Clarke are the only two players in franchise history to put up 100-plus points in multiple seasons.
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“As a teammate of Mark’s, I can ensure that no one deserves this exclusive honor more than him,” Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones said in a statement released by the team Thursday. “January 27 will be an outstanding day for our franchise and for Mark and his family as we celebrate all his Flyers accomplishments.”
Recchi, a Hockey Hall of Famer and now 55 years old, had two separate stints with the organization. He played for the Flyers from 1992 to 1995 and then 1999 to 2004. He made the Eastern Conference Final twice in Philadelphia (2000 and 2004). Each time, the Flyers lost in a Game 7 to the eventual Stanley Cup champion.
"You'll get a lot of players that never won Stanley Cups who were a part of those groups and I was very fortunate to be a part of two in Philly that were that way," Recchi said of the tight-knit Flyers teams that didn't win. "We just didn't quite get there. It sucks. But, still, you remember those days. We still talk about it, we talk about those days, about how much we enjoyed each other and how close we were and we knew it. It's just unfortunate you don't get that opportunity to be the winner on the final day."
Recchi might not have the Flyers playoff profile of others (players such as Mike Richards, Scott Hartnell, Pelle Eklund and Bob Dailey have more postseason points with the franchise), but his ageless game and overall body of work absolutely warranted a call to the Flyers’ Hall.
In 2021, Paul Holmgren and Rick Tocchet became the franchise’s most recent inductees.
“The Flyers Hall of Fame began with Ed Snider and our Flyers Alumni and has become so enriched to our organization that I am thrilled to see it grow with the induction of Mark Recchi,” Dan Hilferty, chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor and governor of the Flyers, said in a statement released by the team. “Mark’s 10 seasons with the Flyers were very special to our franchise and to the Flyers community as he was a part of so many iconic historic moments. We are all looking forward to January 27 when we can solidify Mark in our proud history.”
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