Marian Hossa Signs a One-Year Deal With Detroit, Gives Pittsburgh the Finger

The biggest name on the free agent market this summer has found a new home, and it's not a home many people expected him to end up in. As he promised, Marian Hossa did indeed sign a contract for less than market value to win a Stanley Cup. The surprising part? It's a one year deal with the Detroit Red Wings.

In many places this will be spun as "Hossa just wants to win." This is complete and utter horsepucky. Hossa wants to have his cake and eat it, too. Prior to Detroit's one-year, $7.4 million offer, it looked like Hossa's choices were to take a monstrous deal from Edmonton or Vancouver, or sign for slightly less money with a more serious contender like Pittsburgh or Montreal. He seems to have definitely left a seven-year, $50 million offer from the Penguins on the table. Now Hossa gets his shot at the Cup this year, and if it works out he gets his huge payday next year. In the all-time Mercenary Move Hall of Fame, this one is a first-ballot inductee.

As many have already noted, Hossa fits in perfectly with the Wings. He's a great two-way player and this one year deal lets them shoot for a repeat in 2009, then leaves plenty of cap room to deal with Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen, who will be UFAs after next year. In purely hockey terms, it's a great move for Hossa and Detroit. In terms of karma? Hossa's really tempting the universe on this one.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-02-2008 @ 4:14PM

Steve S. said...

Appropriate headline. Hossa just replaced bonds as the most hated sports figure in Pittsburgh.

7-02-2008 @ 4:24PM

khargraves73 said...

Can you say repeat?!?!?! Now no body can take Stanley from us!!!

7-02-2008 @ 4:48PM

sleahy21 said...

but Pat, we got Eric Godard!

Eric
Godard!

7-03-2008 @ 12:33AM

Victoria said...

Pat,
It's a smart move from Hossa's perspective in that he can't be sure the Pens will have the same success now that a huge portion of the team is leaving thanks to free agency. Detroit is basically going to be identical to the team from the final, minus a few retirees who weren't impact players in the series. If he weren't scorning your Pens, you'd call this a wise decision.

Furthermore, going with a short-term deal prevents Hossa from getting stuck in the Hell-on-Earth that is a rebuilding team. This is not to suggest that the Pens or Wings are going to enter rebuilding mode. However, the reluctance for a long-term contract can be sensible in a player at the peak of his career who has yet to win the ultimate prize in his sport. Surely Hossa sees his time spent in Atlanta as wasted years of his career and does not wish to duplicate that by signing a long-term deal with the potential to be traded somewhere awful (we can all assume/hope GMs have learned some lessons about dishing out no-trade clauses).

I'll leave it at that.

7-03-2008 @ 1:20AM

rwing said...

We certainly have a GREAT chance now to repeat as Champs in 2009!!! Lets do it again next year for a great organization, which is second to none!!!!!!, and for Hossa for coming here!!!! I was overjoyed when I heard the news. THANK YOU Mike and Marian Ilitch for giving us another great shot at the Cup next year. And THANK YOU Marian Hossa for coming here--you have that desire to win and the willingness to sacrifice that a Stanley Cup winner needs. Let the Hunt for Red Octopi begin anew in September!!!! See you all then, and may it end when we hoist Lord Stanley again.

7-03-2008 @ 1:50PM

And now I have to vaguely associate Hossa appreciation with ^^^ those people. And you thought YOU were disappointed...