Despite recent playoff exit, Marian Hossa’s career worth celebrating

Longevity in the NHL is a difficult to achieve for any player, so the rare players that can not only remain in the league, but also excel into their later ages deserve heaps of praise. Think of Jaromir Jagr playing in the NHL playoffs at age 44, or recently Teemu Selanne playing into his 40’s for the Anaheim Ducks.

Fans gravitate towards players that defeat Father Time, which should lead them to Chicago, where Marian Hossa continues his brilliant career.

Hossa scored the first of two Blackhawks goals in a Game 7 loss to the St. Louis Blues, ending his age 37 season on a sour note. But to understand how he arrived at that point, one must begin in Ottawa.

Hossa started his career with the Senators, playing six seasons with Ottawa until being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers. Hossa aided the Thrashers in making the playoffs in 2007 with his only 100 point season, but his tenure in Atlanta would be short lived.

Next was a stop in Pittsburgh, where the real fun began for the Slovakian forward. He had never before made it to the Stanley Cup Final, but after being traded to the Penguins at the 2008 Trade Deadline, he immediately helped guide the Penguins to a Stanley Cup appearance.

04 June 2009: Pittsburgh Penguins Sergei Gonchar (55) defends Detroit Red Wings Marian Hossa (81) as he tries to make a play. Photographer: Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire

Unfortunately for him, his 26 playoff points in 20 games played just weren’t enough as the Penguins fell in 7 games to the Detroit Red Wings.

Fascinatingly enough, Hossa left the Penguins for the Red Wings in the following off-season, trying to win the Cup he was so close to winning in Pittsburgh. In a cruel twist of fate, the Penguins and Red Wings met in the Stanley Cup Finals for the second consecutive year, went into Game 7 once again, and Hossa’s squad came out the losers once more.

Having lost back to back Stanley Cup Final Game 7’s, Hossa attempted to gain long-term financial stability in a fantastic hockey environment by inking a 12-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. The deal turned out to be the greatest blessing for his career to date, as in 2010 he was right back in the Stanley Cup Final.

An interesting tidbit about Hossa’s trio of Cup Final appearances is that when looking for which team to sign with as a free agent heading into the third season, he prioritized finding a team that could bring him back to the cup. As Craig Custance wrote,

“When Marian hired us, one of his objectives consistently was to look for an elite organization to play for,” Winter [Hossa’s Agent] said. “We do a statistical analysis of performance to determine (elite teams).”

Hossa and Winter weren’t about to leave this huge decision to chance — or feel. They, again, hand-picked Hossa’s next team based on an intense study.

Winter defines elite as a 100-point team, so he added Hossa’s expected statistical performance to the projected performance of each team’s current roster to find which teams would be contenders with him.

The formula did wonders for Hossa, as he not only reached his third consecutive Stanley Cup Final, but finally, finally won.

With a Stanley Cup victory under his belt, Hossa continued on in Chicago, succeeding while simultaneously being under the spotlight of a big city, but also being in the background behind other stars. Hossa was never the number one option in Chicago, a role that allowed him to play his game and rack up numbers quietly, but often led him to be underrated by fans.

As the playoff wins racked up and Hossa won two more Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks, Hossa continued to contribute consistent offense to a consistently successful franchise.

Despite his successful career, when the elder statesmen of the NHL are brought up, the names are usually Jaromir Jagr, Roberto Luongo, even Joe Thornton. Marian Hossa is one goal away from 500 for his career, has tallied over 1,000 career points, and has played in over 200 playoff games in his career. If anyone deserves credit as one of the current greats, Marian Hossa fits the bill.

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