Hossa signing makes Blackhawks favorites in West
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em …or steal from ”em.
That’s exactly what the Chicago Blackhawks have done to the dominant Detroit Red Wings. The Hawks signed not just one but two Red Wings from last season: forwards Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky.
Chicago was ousted in the Western Conference Finals last season by those Wings in five games.
Hossa was Detroit’s leading scorer last year with 40 goals and 31 assists. He will basically replace Martin Havlat, whom the Hawks neglected to re-sign after he led Chicago in scoring with 29 goals and 48 assists.
But Hossa is a better all-around player than Havlat and not the injury risk that Havlat was.
“It wasn’t the primary goal,” Chicago GM Dale Tallon said of making the Hawks better while Detroit lost its leading goal scorer. “The primary goal was to get the best players for our team. [The Wings] are still a great team … and the West is tough. … You have to stay ahead of the pace.”
Hossa, a four-time All-Star, got a 12-year, $62.8 million deal as he looks for that elusive Stanley Cup. He played for the Penguins two seasons ago when they lost in the Finals to Detroit. Then Hossa jumped to the Wings last season and took just a one-year deal because he thought the Wings gave him the best shot at a championship. Of course, Detroit lost to Pittsburgh in the Finals in seven games. Hossa did struggle in this year’s playoffs, with 15 points in 23 games and was held without a goal during the Stanley Cup finals.
Still, it was expected that Detroit would re-sign him. Now Chicago should jump the Wings on futures odds for the West title when they are released on WagerWeb.com – unless Detroit makes a counter move.
“Now I don’t have to worry about dealing with it year-to-year. I’m set for 12 years. That will make it easier and I can focus on hockey,” Hossa said.
Teaming Hossa with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews gives the Blackhawks arguably the top trio of forwards in the NHL. Chicago was the youngest team in the NHL last year.
Kopecky had six goals and 13 assists in 79 regular-season games for the Red Wings last season, his fourth with the team.
Chicago’s offense should be dynamic – it also signed former Devil John Madden. The main question is how well that Cristobal Huet replaces Nikolai Khabibulin in goal; Khabibulin signed with Edmonton.
But the West just got more interesting.
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