Where In The World Is Marian Hossa?
by Colin R. on Jul.01, 2009, under NHL
Atlanta…Pittsburgh….Detriot….No, Chicago! Seriously, this guy is harder to find than Carmen Sandiego (there’s a blast from the past, huh).
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, Marion Hossa is going to be playing for his fourth team in just three years. Hossa reached terms today with the Chicago Blackhawks, after losing out on a Stanley Cup twice in the last two years (with different teams, talk about bad luck). But the fact that this guy is switching teams again isn’t the amusing part, the contract he scored from the Blackhawks is.
WHERE COULD HE BE ??!!? (Courtesy of Flickr.com/dan4th - Creative Commons Licensed)
A quick look at Hossa’s background shows why teams want him, he can flat out play. He knocked in 26 goals and 30 assists in only 60 games for the Atlanta Thrashers in 07-08 before Pittsburgh aquired him as a part of a title run, which failed. But Hossa certainly wasn’t the reason, as he added another 3 goals and 7 assists in 12 games. Pittsburgh then didn’t extend Hossa’s contract, not wanting to spend the money and risk losing any other pieces. So then the Detriot Red Wings acquired Hossa to help make a title run, which failed…as Pittsburgh won the Cup (aaah cruel irony!). Again, Hossa played well, posting 40 goals and 31 assists, but his play did drop off pretty sharply in the playoffs.
So, Hossa’s contract expired at the end of the season, and he became a free agent. Whether Detriot had any interest in re-signing Hossa is completely irrelevant, because there’s no chance they would have coughed up the contract Chicago did. The Blackhawks gave Hossa 12 years and 62.8 million dollars. First off, Hossa turns 31 at the start of next year, just throwing that out there. Second, this deal is a top 10 NHL contract. Sure, its a far cry from Ovechkin’s 13 years and 124 million…but Hossa the player is a far cry from Ovechkin the player…and Alex the Great is almost 8 years younger…so there’s that.
It’s not a bad signing for Chicago, Hossa will earn the roughly 5 Million a year, and the length is really a technicality, although its still ridiculous. If I’m the Blackhawks my big worry is whether Hossa is cursed. Sure that sounds weird, but NHL players are a superstitious bunch and Hossa has missed twice now, and the circumstances are pretty strange.
