Chicago Blackhawks Tribute To Marian Hossa

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CHICAGO, IL – JANUARY 24: Marian Hossa /

Here are some words of praise for Hossa from some of the people that are closest to him.

Enough of all this! Let’s move on to giving this man the credit he deserves for such an illustrious career. Here’s what some people close to him had to say.

Head Coach Joel Quenneville: “I tried to put it off, hoping it wouldn’t come to this day. All of a sudden, it’s real. You lose 17 minutes of playing the right way…His minutes were always important minutes.”

General Manager Stan Bowman: “Marian is the most incredible person to be around…he’s the biggest reason the culture around here changed. When he came here, we had a lot of young players. Here we have Marian come in and he handles every situation with the perfect amount of humility and class. He was a great role model.

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When you look at his on-ice performance, I think of his patented move where he would sprint full speed, backcheck and steal the puck. When his production might have been lagging, he would still be playing the right way defensively and still making a contribution to the team game.”

Chicago Blackhawks Captain and teammate Jonathan Toews: “Teammates in the locker room knew he (Hossa) was dealing with issues, that he was considering that [they] weren’t worth it to play through after a while. But what matters most is what he’s proven to his teammates.”

I can’t resist putting in some quotes from Sam Fels of Faxes From Uncle Dale, because he really hits the nail on the head. “Hossa was RAW POWER on ice. Had any Hawks before him, at least in recent memory, simply bowled his way through whatever was in front of him?”

“The countless backchecks where he stole the puck before the other guy ever knew he was there.”

“I’m confident in saying I’ve never seen a Hawk like Hossa. I wonder if we’ll ever see another who after every shift, the only thing you can say is, ‘That’s a grown-ass man, right there.’ Here’s to you, Hoss. It’s been an utter joy. Hope it goes just a little longer.”

This article was written towards the end of the 2016-17 regular season. Oh, the irony of the last statement!

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