Why Marian Hossa Didn’t Deserve to Win

If you followed this year’s playoffs, you probably heard more than one commentator talking about the fact that Marian Hossa turned down a lucrative, long-term contract (worth almost $50 million) with the Pittsburgh Penguins in order to accept a one-year deal (worth $7.5 million) with the Detroit Red Wings.  The reason for his defection?  He thought he had a better chance of winning Lord Stanley with Detroit.

I really couldn’t believe he did (or said) that but I didn’t think about it too much until it was clear that the two teams were going to get a rematch.  I started mulling over the possibility of Hossa watching the other team hoisting the Cup over their heads for a second year in a row and, instead of feeling pity, I began to feel hopeful.  I wanted him to lose and I think that my vengeful attitude is justified.

Winning the Stanley Cup isn’t about jumping on to the roster of the team that you think has the best chance of taking it home.  It’s about earning the honor and working hard to turn your team into the Stanley Cup champions.  Look at what Sidney Crosby has done with the Penguins in such a short amount of time.  I do believe that his enthusiasm and passion has helped push them to the finals two years in a row and, if I ever doubted his captaincy in the past, he’s proven that he is the leader his team needed.

Interestingly, Hossa wasn’t exactly effective for Detroit.  Not only did he fail to score in the finals, he became almost non-existent in Game 7.  I sometimes wonder if he didn’t psych himself out.  Whatever the reason for his lack of effort, he failed his team when they needed him most.  With Pavel Datsyuk and Kris Draper battling injuries, Detroit needed all of their players to be at their best.

After the game, Hossa said: “That’s life,” he said. “You just have to move on. It’s a great life experience.  It’s a tough pill to swallow.  It could be different circumstances if I sign in Pittsburgh and now they probably couldn’t sign some other players and they would be different team.  So we could sit here for hours discussing this, but it could be different team, could be different things so I don’t regret the decision.”

Well, I have to admit that his logic makes sense even if it sounds like something he’s telling himself to feel better.  I was glad that the Penguins were classy enough to not mention the irony during the postgame handshake. “Nobody said anything,” said Hossa. “I congratulated them and that was it.”

Hossa is eligible to be a free agent this offseason.  I am really curious to see where he ends up and what kind of deal he gets.  He’s clearly a great player and had a team-high of 40 goals during this past regular season so he probably will get a decent deal wherever he ends up.

image: TSN