Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Hossa to Red Wings

It's not surprising at all that Marian Hossa chose to join another team, but the one he did join (a contender) the amount (less than the maximum offer) and the term (1 year) might have indicated he'd return to the Penguins.

Or maybe not. Hossa is a member of the Detroit Red Wings, thanks to signing a one year $7.4 million deal. $7.4 million is the most Detroit will pay another player, they want their captain Niklas Lidstrom to be the highest paid player.

We're shocked, no stunned, that Hossa accepted a one-year deal. The financial security he could have gotten from a 5, 6, 7 year deal from no limit of teams could have set him up so much more securly. Clearly $7.4 million dollars is nothing to scoff at, but if Hossa suffers any number of potentially career threatening/limiting injuries (like blowing out a knee or suffering a concussion) the amount of money on the table won't be great.

But then again he's going to the defending Stanley Cup Champions and is in a great position to try and win a Cup. Can't fault him for that.

Can apparantely fault him for not thinking that situation is in Pittsburgh. We have nothing to back this up, but clearly if he offered to let the Pens match Detroit's offer, they would have done it. Hell they might have even added in an extra 3% to cancel out that tax Hossa didnwas weary of.

For the Penguins it's time to switch gears and switch them quickly. Hossa has moved on and so must they. The names heard the most seem to be Markus Naslund, Jaromir Jagr, Pavol Demitra....Watch for Kristian Huselius as well.

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