- The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed veteran winger Mark Recchi on waivers today. The 39-year-old winger has been a healthy scratch since November 12th, and has only 8 points this season.
In a recent Foxsports.com article I suggested Recchi might be the biggest name dealt prior to the start of the NHL’s Christmas “trade freeze” on December 19th, but with this move it appears rival clubs aren’t interested in trading for him.
Recchi’s decline this season was quite sudden, considering he’d just come off his fifteenth 20+ goal season of his career last year, and helped the Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup in 2006 with 16 points in 25 playoff games.
But it seems age has caught up to Recchi, and once he was taken off Sidney Crosby’s line earlier this season his offensive production dried up.
Still, when reports came out last week of Recchi being shopped by the Penguins it seemed possible that a rival NHL team seeking offensive depth might be willing to take a chance on him. He’s still highly-regarded around the league and carries an affordable salary. It now appears that’s not enough.
It’s possible that he could be claimed off waivers but it’ll be interesting to see what happens if he doesn’t. The Penguins could send him to their minor league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but there’s a possibility Recchi might refuse to report, as former teammate John LeClair did last season.
Should Recchi go that route, the Penguins could suspend him or give him an unconditional release thus making him an unrestricted free agent.
If he does report, the Penguins could then place him on recall waivers, in hopes another team might be willing to pick him up for only half of his remaining salary.
The Pens could also decide not to demote and keep him in the press box, as the Montreal Canadiens did last season with winger Sergei Samsonov, but that probably won’t be an acceptable option for Recchi or the Pens at this point.
- This past weekend one of the last of the original Minnesota Wild players retired.
Veteran center Wes Walz, long considered the heart and soul of the Wild franchise since its inception, announced his retirement on December 1 following a month-long leave of absence to ponder his future.
Prior to being selected by the Wild in the 2000 expansion draft Walz has bounced around the NHL with Boston, Detroit, Calgary and Philadelphia, plus spent time in the AHL, IHL and Europe.
The Wild however gave Walz’s career a much-needed boost, as he would go on to become a valuable checking forward on the defensive-minded club. His best season with the club came in 2002-03, helping the Wild advance to the Western Conference finals and earning a nomination for the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward.
The hard-working Walz never posted up Hockey Hall of Fame numbers but he was a fan favorite in Minnesota and will always have place in the hearts of Wild fans.
Would be sad to see Recchs go. He is a veteran presence, but there just no disputing how slow he looked this year, and how much he seemed to age from last season to this. If you look at it, he has been declining since about March of last season, and he hasn't recovered yet. Plus, there isn't an opening for him right now in the Pens lineup. Tyler Kennedy is a scrappy young winger, and can put the puck in the net every once in a while, e####ally from above the left wing face off circle. Michelle Terrien was juggling lineups every other game earlier in the season, but he has found a combination that has worked. Ever since the Thanksgiving thriller with the Sens when the Pens switched to their current line configeration, they are playing with a renewed vigor and step. Hope the Recchin Ball lands on his feet, because he a true class guy, and the best of luck to him.
Spect, reading about scott nied, with the ducks, he he comes back, do the ducks have to re-instate him, isn't he suspended?
Can they refuse to add him to the team?
How does that work?
I for one will miss Walz. I am from Calgary and have always loved the flames. As a kid I knew all of the players names, but wasn't always sure what they looked like.
One day at the golf course when I was something like 12. I helped a man to work the handicap computer. I was fairly comfortable talking to him until we got his log in password to work and I read his name as Wes Walz. All I could manage to say was "You are Wes Walz." And I just thought it was so neat that I helped a hockey player. It was a pretty cool experience for me as a kid.
I was just happy that he trusted me and listened to me. Most people at the golf course wouldn't give a kid the time of day so it meant a lot to me that somebody like Walz was willing to listen to a 12 year olds instructions on how to work a computer.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
