Chicago Blackhawks: The Playoff Legacy of Marian Hossa

In 2009, the Chicago Blackhawks signed Marian Hossa through 2020-21. Hossa was forced to retire early and his contract was traded to Arizona.

When Marian Hossa came to the Blackhawks, there were a lot of exciting things surrounding him. First off, they were signing a player who just scored 40 goals. He also was a veteran presence who just lost back-to-back Stanley Cups.

The Blackhawks were coming off of a Western Conference Finals exit in five games to Hossa’s team, the Red Wings. They were one of the youngest teams in the league and needed to add stars with the skill of Hossa to get ahead of the curve.

Hossa’s first season in Chicago, he played in 57 games and had 51 points. That was the 2010 Stanley Cup season. During the playoffs, Hossa became a Blackhawks’ legend.

During Game 5 of the first round against the Predators, Hossa took a five-minute major penalty that left the Blackhawks a man short, down one goal late in the third period. Patrick Kane scored a short-handed goal to tie the game 4-4 with 13.6 seconds left.

Right as Hossa came out of the penalty box, he skated right to the net. The puck found him and he scored his first playoff goal with the Blackhawks. That goal gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 series lead and changed the course of team history.

That night is where Hossa’s legacy with the Blackhawks was born.

Chicago relied on Hossa for the whole eight seasons he was with the team. With Hossa, the team made the playoffs eight straight seasons. Without Hossa, the team is yet to play one single playoff game.

Hossa knew what it was like to lose and brought that to the younger guys on the team. He was a veteran leader and had a huge role in all three Stanley Cups. Today, Chicago has a new Czech forward named Dominik Kubalik.

Kubalik is looking to have that second or third consistent scoring role like Hossa had during his time in Chicago.

Hossa is irreplaceable and his legacy will live on forever in Chicago. Once he is fully retired, there are rumors he will come back to Chicago and have a coaching role with the team. It would be nice to have Hossa back with his former teammates.

Maybe, he can do what he did back in 2010? Have some playoff success rub off on the younger players.