Bruins' Recchi: Likely his last season in NHL

Jul 3, 2009 - 5:43 PM BOSTON(AP) -- Mark Recchi wants one last chance to be a Stanley Cup champ again.

The 41-year-old Recchi, who signed a one-year deal to return to the Bruins on Thursday, said during a conference call Friday that he'll likely call it quits after next season.

"I'm going to be honest with you. This will probably be it," the 20-year veteran said. "I want to go out and finish it off right by winning another championship and help this team be successful. I'd say this will probably be it. I've got my family situation I've got to consider and kids I've got to consider. It's been a great run. I think I want to give it one more chance. I want to give everything I have to Boston and sail off into the sunset."

Recchi, obtained in a trade-deadline day deal by the Bruins from Tampa Bay in March, was brought in to help Boston's playoff push.

But after posting the Eastern Conference's best record during the regular season, Boston was eliminated in a seven-game, second-round series by Carolina. Despite the early exit, Recchi feels like the Bruins have the pieces in place to make a run next spring.

"I really felt like it was a great fit for me and I'd have an opportunity if we do the right thing," he said from Pittsburgh, home of the current Stanley Cup champs. "Everybody left disappointed, which I really, really liked. I think the guys felt there was something left there and there was something out there. That will make us that much more hungry this year."

Recchi, the sixth leading active goal scorer, has 545 goals and 897 assists for 1,442 points in 1,490 regular-season games for seven clubs. He had six goals and 10 assists in 18 regular-season games with Boston.

He's has been part of three Stanley Cup winning teams: Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992 and Carolina in 2006.

"I'm playing for one more. That's why I'm coming back," he said. "I've had some personal things I've done throughout my career, and I'm playing for one more ring. That's the most important thing for me. The reason I like Boston is 99 percent of the guys on that team really want to win a Cup and that's the most important thing in that dressing room."

The Bruins haven't won the Cup since 1972.