Blackhawks: Marian Hossa, among others in Hall of Fame vote

Today, former Chicago Blackhawks’ forward Marian Hossa will have a chance to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

If the Hall of Fame committee doesn’t vote former Chicago Blackhawks‘ forward Marian Hossa into the Hall of Fame today, it’s almost criminal. The class of 2020 is a strong class that should be headlined by Marian Hossa and Jarome Iginla.

Four male hockey players will be selected, with each of those four players needing 75% of the votes their way. The only knock on Hossa is his lack of individual awards, even though he was a 500-plus goal scorer, along with 500-plus assists in his career.

Hossa had eight seasons where he scored 30-plus goals, with three of those being 40-plus goal seasons. 15 of his 19 seasons, Hossa scored at least 20 goals.

It’s hard to count all-star votes against Hossa, as it’s fan-voted. Another thing that’s always plagued Hossa’s career was the skilled players he played with. He was never recognized the way he should have been.

Not to take anything away from his teammates in Chicago, but he had a lot to do with the success of this team. A lot of people say the Blackhawks wouldn’t have won those three Stanley Cups without Hossa, which has been tested since they haven’t made the playoffs since losing him in 2017-18.

If that’s an argument people want to use, then Hossa should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I’m just hoping for the first time in his career, Hossa isn’t snubbed. The Hall of Fame is somewhere he will be someday either way, why wait?

This year has a stacked line up. If you want to check out the other players, click here. The voting starts at 4:30 PM E.T.