After months of speculation over where Marian Hossa could
end up, he finally made his choice today and it was a surprising one.
The fact Hossa signed with the Detroit Red Wings wasn’t
surprising, it’s the deal he signed with them, spurning more lucrative offers
from other teams to sign a one-year, $7.4 million contract.
Hossa was fielding multi-year offers worth over $9 million
per season to opt for a one-year opportunity for less than market value to win
a Stanley Cup.
Signing with a Cup contender was Hossa’s long-stated intent
and with the defending Stanley Cup champions he stands a great chance of doing
so.
Among the teams vying for Hossa’s services was the
Pittsburgh Penguins, who reportedly offered him a multi-year contract believed
to be between $7.5 -$8 million per season.
Draw your own conclusions.
It certainly says a lot about the respect Hossa has for the
Red Wings organization that he’d agree to just a one-year deal for less money
to play for them when he could’ve earned a king’s ransom elsewhere. When you’re
the class of the league like the Red Wings, you can pretty much name your price
and most players will jump for it.
This move also gives Hossa some flexibility for if he wins a
championship next season with the Red Wings he can then jump into next summer’s
UFA pool where he’ll again likely attract big money offers.
It may be an opportunistic move by Hossa but obviously he and the Red Wings have no problem with it.
Hossa is over rated. Good Luck with the Wings when he gets hurt.
Also anyone that says Gretzky is not the greatest hockey player ever is a jerk. 8 seasons in a row over 50 goals and 11 in a row over 100 points. no one has ever done it or will ever come close to it. case closed.
i'm pretty sure Zetterberg playing along side hossa and Franzen will be the best line in hockey. oh not to mention the second line of holmstrom filpula and Datsyuk, theres a 1-2 punch for you. oh wait theres more top 4 D best top 4 D in the league remains in tact. another cup i'd say so
Hossa to Detroit means we just might have a repeat Stanley Cup champion for the first time in a decade. (Coincidentially, the Red Wings of 1997 and 1998 were the last club to turn that trick.)
This is a deal that should have a happy ending for everybody involved. Detroit gets another weapon, and Ty Conklin might be third-time-lucky in his Stanley Cup chase. Pittsburgh gets to keep their young guns without the Hossa contract forcing Malkin or a collection of the kids out the door. And Hossa heads west, so the Penguins' competition in Montreal and Boston do not get any stronger.
There's even a rosy side for Edmonton fans: We're spared the problem of finding $4 million to $5 million in salary to dump to get back under the cap from a Hossa signing. (I wasn't keen to see Roloson farmed or wave goodbye to Horcoff.)
Wow, I'm blown away by this move. It just goes to show that the information that's "leaked" is not always accurate. From the beginning, the word on the street was that he and his agent were pushing for a long-term deal, no matter what. Now a 1-year for less than market value, considering what other teams were baiting him with. It goes back to what I said a couple of days ago...Detroit is able to do things that other teams can't because of the respect that their franchise garners throughout the league. Kudos the them. They have built something special as a franchise. There are many teams that would love to get a hold of some of that magic pixie dust...
Does Ken Holland have pictures of Hossa with Gary Bettman? Did Detroit have to promise to sign his brother to a multi-year contract? How, in this market, does the best winger sign for a 1 year deal? I'm sure the NHLPA is just THRILLED (sarcasm)
WOW!!! I kinda expected Stuart to resign here, since he has said its been the most comfy he has been in the NHL, but HOSSA!? I foresee the top 2 lines being:
Zetterberg-Holmstrom-Daysyuk
Fillipula-Franzen-Hossa
WOW those are 2 number 1 lines!!! I am stoekd for this.
Wow...so unfair...reminds me of the Red Wing teams of the late 90s when they had a star in every line essentially when they steamrolled the league. Where is the Red Wings in the cap?
So, Pens fans, was the price to rent Hossa worth the ride to the Finals? It is highly debateable that he was nothing more than a complimentary piece and not the pie itself. You still got a good team, but was the price worth the ride?
The Wings had like 17 mill to spend this year, before signing Stuart/Lilja/Conklin/Hossa. So they still have a lil bit more to work with, odds are that they will resign Fillipula and be done, with having to resign Zetterberg next year.
The price was definitely worth the ride. The reality is that only one team wins the Cup and the Pens were two games away. That's almost as close as you can get. The money that the team pulled in from all of those home playoff games was in the eight-figure category.
Anyone who watched the Pens run will attest that Hossa was a primary reason that they made it so deep. There comes a point in time where you can't just rely on the future.
The Pens gave up four players for two in return from Atlanta. Dupuis contributed consistently more than Armstrong or Christensen ever had. And neither of those guys will ever be a top-two line winger, whereas Dupuis proved that he could be. So you can call that a wash, at worst. So that means the Pens gave up two "maybes" (in two guys that are low first-round draft picks) for finishing two games away from hoisting the Cup. I can't speak for all Pens fans, but no one will ever convince me that it wasn't worth it.
Last edited by BlackGoldPenguin21 on July 2nd at 10:51 AM.
Stunt,,,Wings are 5-7 million under cap still. I would have like to see them get more ice time for the kids.....What about putting that new guy they signed from the Finnish league with Hossa?
Everyone ....Look at what the wings pay their guys. Franzen doesnt even make a million! Z makes less than 2.5. Thats why they have the room. It sucks for the rest of the league but thats the figures I saw. The Wings might have more trouble in 2009-2010. But this year if they stay healthy it might be a long season for the rest of the league
Players like Hossa and Campbell are after the money only. They can not really do anything. What you have a breakout year and all of a sudden u are due more $$$ Yea right... Only in pro sports...... I do not think this deal is worth it or the deal the Flyers made for Daniel B. Well what do I know....
this all happened because the wings have the best defenseman in the nhl and they win the cup. no one can say they deserve more money than lidstrom so no one can make more than $7.4. this keeps salaries in line.
it is a shame that the devils could not use that strategy and keep everyone's salary below brodeur's.
as a montreal fan i am delighted that he did not end up in montreal or in the eastern conference.
It was always a strong chance of a this happening, and it did. While I still can't figure why he would keep his hired gun status over a long term deal, he had the power to choose and he did. Can't say I like it, but I don't blame him.
That being done, I would still make the deal the Pens did, and nobody can ever convince me that it wasn't the right move to make, even now. The biggest myth is that the Pens gave up the this kings ransom for Hossa. A couple of role players, a first round pick that was floundering, and a pick that who's knows what could have happened hardly qualifies. They took a shot with Hossa, and didn't quite get there, but they don't come as close as they did without him, simple truth.
Hossa wanted to go to a Cup contender, no better place for him than the defending champs right? 1 year that's it! Afterwards Detroit has to re-neg with Z. Clearly, Hossa could have made more and he will next year, especially if he has a Stanley Cup ring on his finger!
I seem to remember Paul Kariya taking very little to play with the Avs one season in hopes of winning a Cup.
Last edited by Cup_Junkie on July 2nd at 10:05 PM.
All the bitterness about Hossa being overrated is a bit surprising to me. He was one of the top 2 players for Pit in the finals and didn't give up until after the final horn sounded. He clearly was the last piece of the puzzle that took Pits from a contender to steamrolling the East.
The thing that still puzzles me is why he didn't resign with Pits, a team that with him and Malkin and Crosby had the potential to come out of the East for the life of his contract. My theories;
a.)Pits free agent losses weakened them to the point that Hossa didn't think they could repeat - remember Det didn't lose anyone.
b.)There were some personality issue that we didn't hear about
c.)With 3 players making $8+ mil, there wouldn't be enough money to build the rest of the team into a contending long-term force
d.)He didn't like their uniforms
Hossa is taking a pretty big risk by signing with Detroit for just one year. Aside from leaving about 1.5 mil on the table for the year, the risk of injury that could prevent him from 5 more years at 8-9 mil. I would guess that he is going to spend big dollars on insurance this year to cover that risk.
Would you rather make the extra 1.5 mil/year and go to Edmonton for the next 6-7 years, when they clearly don't have the players to compliment Hossa and compete for the Cup. Is your standard of living really that different at 7.4 mil versus 9 mil? There has to be something more that makes you get up and perform at the top and the real chance to play for the cup is certainly one of those things.
This is why the wings are the wings. to many look for the big bucks. the wings are a TEAM playing as a team. the team first money next. looks good on paper but watch out if any one gets hurt? still will make it to the finals.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
