After the game ended all animosity toward Hossa ended. I honestly hope the guy does well. He was great for us for a playoff year, without him we might not have made it 6 games. Who knows?

Also, I think he was right, if he stayed with the Pens he would have had less of a chance to win then he did with the Wings. Unfortunately for him, neither would have come out on top with him.

If you want a ring Hossa, sign for 4 million

Part of me was kinda hoping it was Hossa who took that final shot on Fleury. Everything happened so fast I had trouble keeping track, but when I found out it was Lidstrom I was mildly disappointed. Having Hossa miss the final shot would’ve just been too much to handle.

It’s hard to play the “what if” game over and over again. There are too many variables to work with. If Hossa stayed, maybe we aren’t able to keep Orpik and Staal. Or we wouldn’t have gone out to get Guerin, or Satan. But what would the tradeoff have been having Hossa on the team for the entire season? One of the reasons why the Pens struggled all year until Kunitz and Guerin were added was because Crosby was playing with third line wingers. We wouldn’t have needed Satan/Guerin if we had Hossa…

But thank god the “What if” game doesn’t have to be asked by the Pens (please reference Lord Stanley’s Cup)!!! Now it is up to Hossa to ask himself “what if” over and over again.

The irony is that by leaving the Pens he made the Pens a better team. Despite the fact that his team lost the Cup if he was looking to win the whole thing the decision he made last year was the right one. He went to a Detroit team that won the whole thing last year, didn’t change a thing, and added a world class player, at least he was last year (what a ghost he was this series, right?).

No Hossa meant keeping Orpik, signing Fluery and Malkin to long term deals, keeping Staal who I am sure would have been the one to go to keep Hossa, moving Whitney for a much needed power forward and a top shelf prospect who may see a camio in the NHL next year.

Hossa’s move wasthe right move for him and the Penguins and for that I hold no animosity.

Lastly, why was it a big deal to sign Satan? Dude, his NHL career may be over!

Wasnt it funny when they started celebrating the camera instantly found Hossa?! Define Irony?!

Orpiks salary is roughly the same as Kunitz, keeping Hossa wouldve made one of the Kunitz trade, Fedotenko/Satan signings unnecessary

I’ve said it elsewhere, but hockey teams win as teams, not as individuals. Hossa was in this season for himself, not for any team. For that reason alone, I’m glad he didn’t sign with us.

Something else to consider is how much money he cost himself with that 1-year deal. My understanding is that the Wings were all set to offer him a long deal before the Finals began, but they pulled it off the table somewhat abruptly. And given the overarching economics of the NHL (including a likely fall in the salary cap), it’s hard to imagine a team throwing a big-money multiyear deal at him. Certainly nothing as lucrative as what Edmonton offered. Especially after he vanished in the Finals.

Can anyone think of other instances when this has happened in sports? I can only think of some situations where guys, later in their career (though not necessarily washed up), have signed for less money in order to ride other stars (in their prime) to a championship. These are some guys of I thought of:

Ray Bourque – 2000 Avalanche (classic example)
Karl Malone & Gary Payton – 2004 Lakers
Barkley – 1996 Rockets

That really isn’t the case here because Hossa is still a top notch player. But in both types of situations, it seems to be somewhat of a farse. I mean, if you are a guy that’s a role player, and always will be, then maybe it makes sense to sign with a better team in order to get a championship. But if you are an elite player and try to win it as a lead dog but fail. And then determine that are you going to try and stack the deck by going to a a team that just won a championship (and take less $$ to do so). It seems like you are messing with karma.