Recchi A Thrasher

The Pittsburgh Penguins sent Mark Recchi down to the minors and no team (including Atlanta) put in a claim for him. They Penguins then recalled him and the Thrashers did claim him. What is going on here? Because he was on recall waivers the Thrashers are only responsible for half of his 1.75 million salary.

When you consider that the NHL minimum is .475 million, Atlanta is only paying about .878 to give him a look. Certainly a low risk move. If Recchi can help the team he comes cheap and if he can't help the team he hasn't cost them that much either.

So can he help the Thrashers? Honestly I don't know. Fans in Pittsburgh were riding him pretty hard when I was up there for the Thrashers-Penguins game last year. He will probably be asked to fill the Mellanby's role of veteran leader, but that will only work if he can still skate and contribute on the ice. At one point he was a great NHL player. Only time will tell if he still has enough left. Who knows a change of scenery and a new team might spark him to play better.