By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Mark Recchi will have a new NHL address and it may happen as soon as today.
The Kamloops native, who is one of five owners of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, told The Daily News on Tuesday night that he is close to signing a contract that would result in his playing a 19th season in the NHL.
“I’ve been talking,” Recchi said, adding that something will happen “probably (today), I would say.”
Recchi, who turned 40 on Feb. 1, split last season between the Pittsburgh Penguins, who waived him after 19 games, and the Atlanta Thrashers, totaling 48 points in 72 games. With Atlanta, he had 40 points, including 12 goals, in 53 games.
Recchi earned US$1.75 million last season, down from $2.28 million in each of the two previous seasons.
Asked if there was any chance he would return to Atlanta, Recchi replied: “Uhhh . . . no.”
Recchi said he and Rick Curran, his agent of 22 years, have heard from “a couple of teams, which is really all you need. So it’s been good.”
A deal could have been done, he added, but “I’m a little bit picky at this point, too.”
“At some point,” Recchi continued, “there would probably be more teams but I don’t want to be on a bad team again. I know what my role is now and I want to be on a good team that has a chance. I want to help out leadership-wise.”
Besides, he said with a laugh, “I’m not really a priority.”
Like a lot of observers, Recchi watched with interest as NHL teams handed out close to US$400 million Tuesday, the first day of the free-agent signing period.
“Oh my gawd . . . it’s incredible,” said Recchi, whose richest contract was a five-year, $25-million he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers on May 11, 1999.
Recchi chose not to comment, but it’s believed the Flyers, a team with which he spent more than seven seasons, are one of the teams he was in contact with yesterday.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
