In retrospect him leaving was great for Pittsburgh, partly because we were able to sign other players (as many have mentioned) but also because he sucked in the SCF. So it’s not like we are mad at him for taking his talent elsewhere. It’s actually scary to think we could have been stuck with him for all those years (paying him $49 million).

But this moment feels good because he insulted the whole team when he left by saying Detroit had a better chance to win the cup. He flat out told everyone that he didn’t believe in our team, didn’t think we could do it… and instead of working hard with his team, he wanted to sign on with the team that already won.

Now that we have won the cup, I will no longer care what happens to Hossa… he got what he deserved, and I hope he learned a very important lesson. If you want the Stanley Cup you have to work for it — and you should never insult your former teammates on your way out of town.

And thus the heart and soul of a man is crushed. He will never be the same player again.

It all worked out really really well. All players want to win the Cup and he is no different – he just made the mistake of “thinking in high volume”. LOL it is like someone say8ng I don’t want to go out with you anymore because so and so is hotter – no one wants to hear THAT

By most accounts, hes a good guy/teammate and he made what he thought was the right decision for him, and it almost was were it not for one game. So its not as if the Wings lost in the second round.

I just couldnt believe anyone would turn down 35M, seven years w/ Crosby which would assuredly turn him into a Hall of Famer, that was the most shocking part to me.

The real question is where does he sign now?

I like Guerin, Kunitz, and Adams so much better anyway. Obviously I’m not the only one. I initially thought it would have been perfect to have the Penguins who played last year skate rings around him, or extend middle fingers towards him, but Crosby’s megawatt smile probably hurt him more than anything else.

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.