Marian Hossa

Original post date: March 23rd, 2010

Last night's Stanley Cup rematch between the Penguins and Detroit Red Wings couldn't help but remind me of how up-in-arms people were after winger Marian Hossa, who was brought here at the trading deadline in 2008, left following the Penguins Stanley Cup defeat at the hands of the Red Wings TO ACTUALLY SIGN with Detroit after that season.

People were furious and to add salt to the very open wound, after Hossa turned down a multi-year offer to stay with the Penguins and signed a one year deal with the Wings, he said the reason he did so was because he wanted a chance to win a cup.

That little statement sent Penguins fans and Pittsburgh sports talk hosts through the roof. I do believe there were "Hossa: Wanted Dead or Alive" signs along side those of bin laden.

What I couldn't figure out was why people were so furious. I mean, I know he was a good player and a key acquisition for the Penguins '08 run for the Cup, and the guy who came oh-so-close to tying the score at the end of game 6 of the Finals but he was only here for a few months. I could see if it was Crosby or Malkin who left and said such things, but Hossa was essentially a rent-a-player. He didn't have an emotional attachment to the Penguins or to Pittsburgh. He was going where he thought was the best place for him and his goals (no pun intended.)

And was he really wrong for saying what he said? Even though Pittsburgh made the Finals in '08 and lost in six games, they were six TOUGH games and Detroit looked DOMINANT in those six games.

Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut because we all know what happened last year with the Penguins and Red Wings rematch. The Penguins won in 7 games to capture their first Cup in 17 seasons and Hossa was made to look foolish. But was he really foolish? He wasn't far off. The Penguins won in 7 games but it took every ounce of courage and talent to defeat Detroit.

And if Hossa had stayed here, it would have changed the whole dynamic. Think about it. Players like Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin, two key members of the teams postseason run, probably wouldn't have been acquired at the deadline. And what about Mad Max Talbot? If Hossa was here, Talbot might not have been on the ice to score the game-winning goals in game 7.

And not to mention the financial aspect. The Penguins offered Hossa $7 million a year over 7 years. That's a long time, especially for a player who only played with your team for three months. And let's not forget about the whole salary cap issue. The Penguins have some pretty pricey young stars on their team. Keeping Hossa might have meant losing Staal or Talbot or Fleury or even Malkin. I don't think anyone would want that.

Ok, so the Penguins won the Cup and were the champions of the '08/'09 season and people were still talking about Hossa. I hear it to this day about how Hossa was a traitor. Last Summer, during the NHL free agency season, when Hossa signed a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, 1250 ESPN radio brought on a member of the Chicago media to discuss the deal. This is TWO teams later. Wow.

Can you say STALKER? And a few weeks ago, when I was out at the Mall at Robinson, I was browsing one of the sporting good kiosks and I saw a picture of Hossa and the title was "Maryann Hossa."

Man, we sure do get bitter when someone spurns us for another team. This is worse than when Cowher rang that bell last year for Carolina.

Didn't we win the Cup? Who cares about Hossa? Penguins fans are acting like Chris Elliot's character, Dom (Woogie) in "There's Something About Mary." We have a beautiful Cup that we got to parade around the city the entire Summer and we're worried about why Hossa didn't return our calls and shunned us for another suitor.

I'm surprised you didn't steal all of his skates. Do you all get hives anytime Hossa's name is mentioned?

Ok, enough Mary references, but the point is stop worrying about Hossa. It was only three dates. Let it go. He changed his number. He's moved on. You should too.