National Hockey League legend and hall-of-famer Mark Recchi announced his endorsement of former mayor and congressman Lou Barletta, the leading Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania. Recchi played 22 seasons in the NHL for seven teams, including the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins, and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.
Recchi issued the following statement:
“Having lived and played in Pennsylvania for a lot of years, I know that Lou Barletta will make a great governor and I am proud to endorse him. Even though he is more of a baseball fan, he’s tough enough and fights hard enough to have played hockey, and I respect that. Lou believes in the freedom of people to make their own decisions and I know that he is the right man to get Pennsylvania back on track again. He means what he says, and when he makes a promise, you know you can trust him. That’s what we expect from elected leaders and it’s what Lou Barletta has always done.”
Barletta issued the following statement:
“Pennsylvania is a big hockey state and getting support from a legend like Mark Recchi means a lot. Fans in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia can still remember him as a player, and I am thrilled to have him on my team now. We are running the greatest grassroots campaign in Pennsylvania history, but we will still welcome a friend from the ice anytime. Mark Recchi’s endorsement adds more momentum to our campaign, which is built on restoring freedom to Pennsylvanians, keeping our communities safe, opening up our Commonwealth for business again, and ensuring that our kids get the education they deserve.”
Recchi won three Stanley Cups in three different decades with three different teams: in 1991 with Pittsburgh, in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes, and in 2011 with the Boston Bruins. Recchi scored 577 goals and recorded 956 assists in regular seasons during his career and ranks 13th all-time in NHL points with 1,533. He is 7th all-time in games played with 1,652. In the playoffs, Recchi scored 61 goals and recorded 86 assists in 189 post-season games. He was an NHL All-Star seven times and was named Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game in 1997. In the 1992-93 season, Recchi’s 123 points set the regular season record for Philadelphia, which he still holds today. Recchi was born in Canada and became a U.S. citizen in the early 2000s.
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