The Columbus Blue Jackets added Mark Recchi as an assistant coach to Pascal Vincent’s staff on Monday.
Recchi was last on a bench in the 2021-22 season with the New Jersey Devils an assistant who ran the club’s power play.
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017, Recchi, 55, was a seven-time All-Star who finished his career with 577 goals and 1,533 points. He was on three Stanley Cup-winning teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991, Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and Boston Bruins in 2011.
“Mark Recchi has been part of the National Hockey League for over three decades and brings an incredible amount of experience to our staff,” said Vincent, hired last week after the club announced the resignation of Mike Babcock. “I’m thrilled that we have added a person of (his) talent and insight.”
After naming Vincent to his role last week, Blue Jackets management admitted it made a mistake in hiring Babcock, apologizing privately to players and publicly to critics.
Babcock resigned days before the start of training camp after an NHLPA investigation into claims that he violated players’ privacy when he asked to see photos on their cellphones. He had been hired in July.
“We went through a process earlier this summer prior to hiring Mike Babcock as our head coach, but we got it wrong and that’s on us,” team president John Davidson said.