8 seasons, 534 games, 415 points, and three Stanley Cups, tonight, the Hawks put the final touches of Marian Hossa’s Hall of Fame Career as he Joins Hall, Pilote, Magnuson, Hull, Savard, Mikita, and Esposito in the rafters and becomes the 8th hockey to have their number retired. Hossa will go down as one of the greatest free agency signings in franchise history and with out him its hard to see three cups coming to Chicago.
One of the all-time greatest two-way players who back checked almost as hard as he forechecked, he is 10th all-time in takeaways with 748 and also ranks 47th all-time with a +245 rating. It’s funny that what made Hossa such an amazing player are the things that never get the attention that they deserve. This seemed to be the story for Hoss; even though he was one of the most important players of the dynasty era, he never fully got the attention he deserved as the spotlight always seemed to land on Kane, Toews, Keith, and Seabs. But that’s what made Hossa so great, is that he didn’t need the attention to do his job.
Jonathan Toews who was Hossa’s center for most of his Blackhawks career, said "Hoss is one of those guys, he was just smooth in whatever he did, he was talented, he was smart, he was really skilled on the ice but his work ethic was another thing as well.” But Patrick Kane said it better than anyone else and when he called him the perfect hockey player.
Tonight is all about Hossa, as the Hawks take on one of his former teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins. No matter the outcome of this game, tonight will go down as one of the most memorable nights in team history and I am thrilled that I get to be in attendance taking this all in person.
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