Hate to Love: My Marian Hossa Experience

My experience with Marian Hossa dates back to 2008... a time where I started to branch out as a hockey fan. Growing up in the south suburbs of Chicago, I had always been a Blackhawks fan. I also had a closer connection to the game of hockey because my dad had played as a kid. He actually was partially responsible for my high school having a club team. You see, he also grew up in Orland Park. He moved there from the city as a young lad and went to the same high school I did. When the school didn't have a hockey team, he and his friends made sure to do something about that. Long story short, his love for the game resonated onto his family.

Just like any good rom-com, my relationship with Hossa started off as nothing. Being a Blackhawks fan and never really venturing to learn about the other teams, I didn't know who he was. Now as I mentioned, in 2008, I started to pay more attention to the game. I would watch hockey regardless of who was playing. One game in particular changed my monogamous relationship with the Blackhawks...that would be the 2008 NHL Winter Classic. The Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The game was fantastic. It was so exciting and exuberated everything I love about hockey. I still remember to this day, sitting and watching that game, the thick snowflakes falling down, and thinking, "Man, I really love hockey." The whole game reminded me of being a kid. Playing hockey on Grandma and Grandpa's pond, going to games in an empty United Center, family getting together to watch on TV..that kid feeling felt like home. I was instantly entrapped by the Penguins and their power three forwards: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal. They were so fast and thrilling to watch, not to mention me being a 19 year old girl Crosby and Staal weren't hard on the eyes. As if the pure essence of the game wasn’t enough, the game was a nailbiter, keeping you hooked till the very last shot. The game went to overtime tied at 1 with goals by Pittsburgh’s Colby Armstrong and Buffalo’s Brian Campbell (yes, the one that briefly played for the hawks). After five minutes of back and forth, the game was forced to go to a shootout. Buffalo’s Ales Kotalik went first and scored on Pittsburgh goaltender Ty Conklin. Then came Erik Christensen who was stopped by Buffalo’s goaltender Ryan Miller. Conklin saved the second shot which was taken by Tim Connolly. Penguins scored on their second attempt thanks to Kris Letang and when Maxim Afinogenov failed to make his shot it was all up to the young captain, Sidney Crosby. With a quick approach to the net and a little stick handling, Crosby flicked in the puck to win the first ever NHL Winter Classic in history.

I have been a Penguins fan ever since that day. Now before a lot of you Chicagoans get mad at me, the Blackhawks are still my team, they will always come first... I just also cheer for Pittsburgh. About a month after I started following my new #2 team, February 26, the team traded Armstrong, Christensen, prospect Angelo Esposito and their first round pick in 2008 for Pascal Dupuis and Marian Hossa. Despite being out six games shortly after joining the team, Hossa made an instant impression on me as he skated along with Dupuis and Crosby. The team was solid and by no surprise they found themselves on a run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Seeing as my #1 team was not in the playoffs, it was easy to get behind the Penguins and cheer them on. Pittsburgh was up against the Ottawa Senators in the Conference Quarterfinals, which was an easy sweep. In the Conference Semifinals they took down the New York Rangers 4-1, which brought them to the Conference Finals where they also beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1. This was it, my new team had made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, and what do you know...they are up against the team I hate the most in this league...the Detroit Red Wings. It came down to game 6. Detroit was up 3-2 in the series and Penguins had the home ice advantage. Detroit drew first blood with a power play goal by Brian Rafalski and didn’t score again till the second period, where Valtteri Filppula made it a 2-0 game. Penguins scored their first late in the second, a goal by Malkin assisted by Crosby and Hossa. Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg came back to add a third in the third. When all hope seemed to be lost, with about 1:30 left in the game, penguins scored on the power play by none other than Marian Hossa. Unfortunately, the Penguins were unable to capitalize on the momentum and the wings were Stanley Cup Champions. I was furious. I was beyond furious...I was stomping around like a little child who didn’t get a cookie, I was snapping at people, and just wanted to be alone. This is what the Detroit Red wings do to me. But all in all, I was so impressed with the Penguins, they had a hell of a run. I felt very confident in my choosing of a second team to follow.

It was time for that dreaded period where there’s no hockey, no football, no basketball. Those dang summer months where nothing too exciting happens in sports (no offense to baseball). That was until July 1, a day that would bring back all the anger I was feeling on June 4th when the Red Wings took home the cup. On this day, Hossa signed a one-year deal with Detroit worth $7.45 million. Must be because it was the best offer you must be thinking, no..it wasn’t. The Penguins reportedly offered him a five-year deal worth 7 million annually. Even the Edmonton Oilers offered him a multi-year deal worth at least $9 million per season! So why? Hossa said he opted out for the contract with the wings in hopes of a better chance to win a Stanley Cup. TRAITOR! Traitor, deserter, backstabber...it was all I could think. Again I was furious. I instantly had a bad taste in my mouth when it came to Hossa. I joined the fellow fans in the boos when he returned to Pittsburgh for the first time. Of course he had to salt the wound by scoring a goal in that game.

Then came playoff season again. This time both my teams would be competing. The Blackhawks made it all the way to the Conference Finals after taking down the Calgary Flames in the Conference Quarterfinals and the Vancouver Canucks in the Conference Semifinals. Then came my mortal enemy, the Red Wings (okay, a bit of an exaggeration). Detroit took the first two games at home, giving them a comfortable lead. When the hawks returned to the United Center, they picked up a big 4-3 overtime win. Unfortunately, that would be their only win in that series. The Red Wings killed the Blackhawks 6-1 in game 5, and sealed the deal in game 6 with a 2-1 overtime win. Defiled again! But wait, I still had my pens. Over in the Eastern conference, the penguins had also made it to the Conference finals after pushing past the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals. They swept past the Carolina hurricanes and were once again taking on Detroit in the Stanley Cup Finals. When the Red Wings took the first two I thought I was having Deja Vu. Here we go again! I was wrong, things were different this time. The Penguins came back to win games 3 and 4 to tie the series at 2. It seemed as if whoever had home ice advantage would win the game. So by no surprise, when they were back in Joe Louis arena for game 5 the wings killed the pens 5-0, but Pittsburgh came back with a 2-1 victory in game 6 at Mellon Arena. Uh oh.. a game 7 back in Detroit. It was clear something would need to change if the Penguins were going to win. Maxime Talbot picked up the first goal early in the second with an assist by Malkin. Now, I can throw in a bunch of articles that list different statistics, but I’m going to let you decide if you want to research that. I’ll just say many say if your team scores first, the odds of winning are between 60 and 70 percent. Now add in the second goal, and the odds are even higher, which is just what Talbot did. Penguins took a 2-0 lead halfway through the second. They held off the Wings until later in the third, where Jonathan Ericsson scored to make it a “1 point game”. Pens had to pick it up to avoid overtime and a possible loss. It was six minutes of high-intensity hockey. Six minutes to reach redemption for Pittsburgh. Six minutes of opportunity to take home back to back championships for Detroit. As the clock winded down, the Penguins inched closer to victory. Then the horn sounded. They had done it, they finally grasped victory and how sweet it was to do it to the team that had taken it from them a year prior. How sweet it was to rub Hossa’s nose in it for not believing his former team could do it. I bet he felt pretty stupid. I was ecstatic. I was feeling great.

Just like clockwork, it was time for that dreaded period where there’s no hockey, no football, no basketball. Those dang summer months where nothing too exciting happens in sports. Then that darn Marian Hossa was back in the news. He had signed a new contract, just like he did around this time last year. This time it was a much larger deal, 12 years worth 62.8 million, and to my utter surprise it was with my #1, the Chicago Blackhawks. No, no no..I don't want this traitor, this Red Wing! I was so bitter and disgusted with the move. I was not looking forward to having an outlier on my team that season. Of course, more injuries for new guy. He sat the first eight weeks of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. When he finally made his debut, he scored twice against the San Jose sharks, one short-handed. Yeah, I already knew he was good, doesn’t matter. All he cares about is winning. Slowly, as the season went on, my anger started to subside. Then it was to the playoffs. This time the Blackhawks had made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Now seeing as most of you are Chicago fans, you already know what happens, so I won't go into too much detail. But on June 9, the hawks and the Flyers were tied at 3 with about a minute left in overtime when it happened. Did it? I’m not sure..did you see it? Yes? YES! Patrick Kane had done it! The Stanley Cup was headed to sweet home Chicago. Captain Jonathan Toews was first to raise the silver beauty and the first person he handed it to, was Marian Hossa. After 24 years of playing professional hockey, 13 in the NHL, he had won his first Stanley Cup ever. Something clicked in me. A man who has spent his whole life playing the game he loves, a game I love, has finally won the highest honor he could. He could finally say he was apart of the greatest hockey team in the league. What an amazing feeling that is. I finally understood, I wasn’t as angry anymore. After spending so many years trying your hardest, how could you not want to do what you can to be the best at what you do.

Now, I can be known to hold grudges, so I didn’t exactly like or love Hossa after that. I understood and I was happy. If he was going to win a Stanley Cup, why wouldn’t I want it to be with my favorite team. Just like everything else, all good things take time. So throughout the years, Hossa has gained my trust, my respect, and my fanship. Since joining the Blackhawks, he has scored 369 game points (scored his 1,000th this season), 217 goals (4 in the last two games alone), and has 175 assists. He has become one of my favorite players on the team. A 6”1 monster, even bigger on skates, he masters the art of playing offense with the left side of his body and defense with his right. For an old man (37, old for the game), he still has a lot left in his tank and he is the perfect teacher for this young hockey team. I hope he can win two more cups with this team and retire a happy hockey player. A hockey player that will find himself in the hall of fame in the future.

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