Mark Recchi to become 28th member of Flyers Hall of Fame in January

Mark Recchi almost didn’t get the news. The former Flyers winger thought he was getting on a video call last week with some Flyers alumni to recap a recent fantasy camp and talk about improvements that could be made in the future.

Recchi said he was surprised to see new Flyers president Keith Jones on the call. But there was a bad connection — we’ve all been there — when Jones was speaking. Through the choppiness, however, Recchi got the gist.

This wasn’t a call about Flyers alumni fantasy camp.

It was to inform Recchi that he would become the 28th member of the Flyers Hall of Fame, an honor the team announced Thursday afternoon. Fittingly, Recchi will be inducted on Jan. 27 during a pregame ceremony before the Flyers play the Boston Bruins, the team Recchi finished his 22-season NHL career with in 2011. Recchi, 55, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

Recchi’s induction in early 2024 will mark the first such Flyers Hall of Fame event since 2021, when Paul Holmgren and Rick Tocchet were honored.

» READ MORE: The Flyers 50 greatest players of all-time

The right winger had two highly productive stints in Philadelphia, first from 1991 to 1995, then from 1998 to 2004. As a Flyer, he collected 627 points in 602 of his 1,652 career NHL games. He ranks sixth in Flyers history in assists (395) and ninth in overall points.

“I was very fortunate to play in a great city with a great organization and great teammates, the two times I was there,” Recchi said during a video call with reporters Thursday afternoon. “I loved my time there and it was incredible.”

He also still holds the Flyers record for most points in a season, with 123 points (53 goals, 70 assists) in 1992-93 to break Bobby Clarke’s mark. (Clarke totaled 119 in 1975‑76, with 30 and 89.)

“I grew up watching him,” Recchi said of Clarke. “To be able to get ahead of him was pretty surreal.”

» READ MORE: Flyers hopeful Tyson Foerster already showing NHL ‘swagger’ at rookie camp

Recchi said his favorite personal memory was scoring his 400th career goal as a member of the Flyers. But the two runs to the Eastern Conference semifinals — in 2000 and 2004 — stand out more.

“We were a really tight group and really enjoyed each other,” he said. “When you get those special bonds with a group of guys and the feeling you have in the dressing room every day, it’s really awesome. Those moments, to me, are what kind of make everything.

“You can have individual stuff, but there’s nothing better than being with teammates that you want to be with.”

In a statement, Jones said: “As a teammate of Mark’s, I can ensure that no one deserves this exclusive honor more than him. January 27 will be an outstanding day for our franchise and for Mark and his family as we celebrate all his Flyers accomplishments.”

Recchi ranks eighth all-time in most NHL games played with 1,652.

He played in 81 games in his final regular season at 43 years old. He then played in 25 playoff games — and had 14 points — for a Bruins team that won the Stanley Cup, the third of Recchi’s career. He became the oldest player to score a goal in the Final.

» READ MORE: Flyers bring back trademark double logo look at center ice

The native of Kamloops, British Columbia, finished with 1,533 career points, good enough for 13th in NHL history, with stops in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Montreal, Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Boston.

He later won two Stanley Cups as a member of Pittsburgh’s front office. Recchi also coached in the New Jersey Devils organization from 2020 to 2022.

He said Thursday that he’d like to return to hockey and would prefer the management side.

“I’m looking to get back in. I’m too young to sit at home,” Recchi joked.