The Recchi Deal
One of the most important trades in Hurricanes history, the deadline day trade on March 9, 2006 to acquire forward Mark Recchi was huge. The package Carolina gave up made the trade largely a robbery. The full deal was as follows:
To CAR: F Mark Recchi
To PIT: D Niklas Nordgren, F Krys Kolanos, 2007 2nd-round pick
On deadline day in 2006, the first-place Carolina Hurricanes went out and added another veteran piece to their puzzle (they’d added Doug Weight a month earlier) to gear up for their playoff run, and look for a replacement of sorts for the recently-injured Erik Cole.
At the time, Recchi, who’d waived his no-move clause to facilitate the trade from Pittsburgh, couldn’t wait to get underway with the team:
"“I’m not going in there to be the savior, [I just] want to be a piece of a great hockey club. If I can be a little piece that can get it over the top, that’s what I’m looking for. It’s going to be a breath of fresh air for me.” Recchi said. “I just can’t wait to get there, lace them up and get in the lineup with these guys.”"
At the time, Recchi had 24 goals and 57 points in 63 games for Pittsburgh, and immediately slid into a top-6 role in the Canes group. He filled a huge need for the playoff-bound Hurricanes, who didn’t give much up to get him.
"“If we weren’t able to get Mark Recchi, we weren’t going to get anyone else.” said GM Jim Rutherford."
Recchi obviously went on to be a giant factor for the Hurricanes down the stretch. His 7 points in 20 regular season games with the team weren’t much to write about, but in the playoffs, when the team needed him, Recchi came alive.
He scored 7 goals and 9 assists in 25 post-season games, and was a major contributing factor in the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup win. Recchi later went on to say the following about the 2006 Canes group:
"“I joined the team with 20 games left and saw how much the guys believed in what they were doing and [we] stayed with it. We believed in each other” – Mark Recchi"
As far as the Penguins’ side of the deal, in hindsight it looks as if the Canes got away with blatant robbery. Niklas Nordgren played just 15 games for the Penguins, and left for Europe after the season. Krys Kolanos never played a game for the team.
As far as the 2007 second-round pick went, Pittsburgh ended up trading it for forward Nils Ekman, whose production plummeted after the move. He lasted just 34 games in Pittsburgh and then left for Russia. The Pens also got goaltender Patrick Ehelencher in the deal, who spent his entire pro career playing pro in Germany.
All things considered, this trade was probably one of the best in Canes history, and has to be in the mix for one of the biggest steals in trade deadline history. Not only did they add a key component to their Cup-winning team, they gave up what amounted to nothing to do so. Well done, Jimmy Rutherford!