Game Six: Wings at Pens, 8 tonight
Red Wings' Hossa a villain in Pittsburgh
Published: June 09, 2009, 1:32 am
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PITTSBURGH — The decision was about winning the Stanley Cup and nothing else. Marian Hossa had proven his worth and understood basic economics. He knew players like him were in short supply and high demand and the jackpot would be waiting for him as an unrestricted free agent.
If he landed anywhere else for more guaranteed money on a longer contract, perhaps Pittsburgh Penguins fans would have shown some compassion. They had become smitten with Hossa last season, when he helped the Pens reach the finals. He led them with 12 goals, and his 26 points were second only to Sidney Crosby's 27.
Fans adored him. The organization wanted him back. He enjoyed living and playing in the Steel City. And he signed with Detroit?
"He's a human being," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said Monday. "He probably cares a lot about the guys on that team, and they probably care about him, too. He's been an important part of our team all year. He's been a good team guy and a good person. In the end, it's a big plus."
Hossa didn't become a villain because he left — but why he left. He had the audacity to leave a pile of guaranteed money on the table and make winning his first priority. He examined the Red Wings and concluded they had the best chance to win the Cup. Translation in the 'Burgh: The Penguins did not.
Pittsburgh's reaction was hardly surprising, but it did make for an interesting twist. Hossa's winning-first, money-second approach toward unrestricted free agency was one fans wished professional athletes took more often, but it also made him a traitor in this loyal, hard-working town.
Now, Pens' fans are faced with the possibility of the Red Wings confirming his decision was the right one. Detroit has a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series going into Game Six tonight in the Igloo, which is where the Wings finished off Hossa and the Pens in the same number of games last season. The only way it could get worse for Pittsburgh is if Hossa scores the series-clinching winner tonight.
"It's probably as difficult a situation for him as it could have been," Babcock said. "There could have been a lot of other teams we'd be playing, and it would have been easier and we wouldn't be talking about this stuff."
Funny, but Hossa could be in the same position no matter which team he picked last summer in the open market. Pittsburgh offered him a five-year deal worth $35 million on July 1. He turned it down for a one-year deal worth $7.45 million — matching captain Nicklas Lidstrom's team-high salary — with Detroit the following day. Hossa could be back on the open market July 1.
As you can imagine, Hossa wasn't greeted with the warm and fuzzies during the first two games in Pittsburgh. Jack the Ripper would have an easier time in London. Hossa was booed every time he touched the puck during the third and fourth games in Pittsburgh, which is to say he hasn't been booed nearly enough.
Hossa has not scored in the series and has just three assists in Joe Louis Arena to show for the first five games. He had 40 goals and 71 points during the regular season. He hasn't scored in six straight and 13 of 14 postseason games. All it means is that he's overdue for a goal tonight or Friday night in Detroit, if necessary.
"Right now, I just try not to think about it," Hossa told reporters in Detroit. "At this point, the wins are more important."
This series has been tighter than peppers and onions. The home team has won all five games. The only distinct difference so far has been the Wings' edge in secondary scoring and goaltending. Just think — and Penguins fans have — Hossa could very well be one win away from winning it all had his decision been made in reverse.
The Penguins were the first team since the 1984 Oilers to lose in the finals one year and return to play the same opponent the next. Edmonton won the following year, but it wasn't as if Mark Messier abandoned the Oilers for the Islanders during the offseason and came back to play against them the following year.
And that leaves Hossa in an awkward but enviable position that has grown tiresome to the right winger. He has offered only bland responses since the series began and was unavailable in Pittsburgh on Monday. He wouldn't discuss whether he shared any moments with his former teammates since the finals began. Let's face it, the Stanley Cup doesn't lend itself to good laughs with the opponent over dinner.
"I think players are focusing on the game," Hossa said. "They try to play physical, not just on me but on the whole team. I don't pay attention to that."
Hossa hasn't been nearly as productive with the Red Wings in the postseason (six goals and 15 points in 21 games) as he was with the Penguins a year ago, when he played on the top line with Crosby and Pascal Dupuis. Hossa has played mostly on the second line with Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula in this series.
His absence from the Penguins, not his addition to the Wings, could be his greatest impact. Crosby has been flanked by veteran newcomers Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin, both of whom — like Hossa last season — were acquired at the trade deadline, in the finals. Both have been invisible in the finals with no goals and one assist each.
And fans are blaming Hossa?
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