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Room For 1 More: Recchi Addition Gives Bolts 14 Forwards

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 8, 2008

TAMPA - The Lightning's stuffed cupboard found enough room on the shelf of overstocked forwards for one more.

Veteran forward Mark Recchi is the latest to join the fray, agreeing to a one-year contract Monday worth $1.25 million with bonus incentives that could reach $1.5 million.

"We are going to be younger and we want some depth for our top six forwards and Recchi is at the point in his career where he can play a top six if we need him but he can also play the six through nine role, as well," Lightning co-owner Len Barrie said.

"It's adding some depth, but it's also about changing the culture. Recchi is future Hall of Famer who has won Stanley Cups and having guys like him and Gary Roberts around for a year is just going to be outstanding for our young guys."

Recchi is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, having helped Pittsburgh to its first title in 1991 and was a key component as a trade acquisition for Carolina in 2006. He started last season with the Penguins but was placed on waivers after scoring eight points in 19 games. The 40-year-old was claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers on Dec. 8 and finished with 12 goals and 40 points in 53 games with the Thrashers.

In 1,410 career games, Recchi is nearly a point-a-game player with 522 goals and 1,381 points.

He joins an influx of new forwards that includes former Pittsburgh teammates Ryan Malone, Adam Hall and Roberts along with Radim Vrbata and the reacquired Vinny Prospal. It also gives the Lightning 14 forwards on one-way NHL contracts, which doesn't count hulking Russian Evgeny Artyukhin, who has agreed to a two-year contract but is waiting to clear paperwork to prove his contract with CSKA in Russia has ended.

Barrie indicated the team is not done revamping the roster. With so many extra forwards it figures that one or more of them are on the trading block, with Jussi Jokinen or Michel Ouellet the most likely candidates at this point.

"We have a couple other deals in the works," Barrie said. "I don't think in the last little while you could say that Tampa Bay has had depth; now we have some depth to make some moves."

One move that may not come is adding to a defense that is high on talent, but short in experience. Other than Filip Kuba, the Lightning do not have a defenseman who has more than three seasons of NHL experience on the roster, which includes the pending signing of 28-year-old former Carolina defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, who hasn't played more than 41 games in parts of three seasons and spent all last season with Hartford in the AHL.

"You can hear from me first, our defense is better than people think," Barrie said. "That's why we are loading up on forwards because I really, really like our young defense."

GOERTZEN OUT: Lightning chief scout Jake Goertzen was fired by the team Monday after being with the organization since the team's beginning. In a mass e-mail, Goertzen stated: "It has been a good run. I have been very fortunate in my hockey life, to have been with one pro organization as long as I was. Life will go on."

Tribune staff writer Ira Kaufman contributed to this report.

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