Marian Hossa rewrote his story with the Blackhawks after Stanley Cup defeats

Marian Hossa was one of the best scoring wingers of his generation. He ended his NHL career after having played in 1,309 regular-season games. He racked up 525 goals and added 609 assists for 1,134 points.

Hossa topped 40 goals in his career three times, while hitting the 30-goal plateau multiple times. His best season came with the defunct Atlanta Thrasher in 2006-07 when he scored 43 goals and added 57 assists for an even 100 points.

The 12th overall pick in the 1997 NHL Draft wasted no time in making a name for himself. He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators, but truly hit his stride in Atlanta. Hossa landed in Atlanta in the trade that sent Dany Heatley to Ottawa.

But by the 2008 trade deadline, the Thrashers weren’t going anywhere. After making the playoffs for the first time in the team’s history the year before, the Thrashers were fading fast in 2008. So, the club sent Hossa to the Pittsburgh Penguins as the Pens geared up for a strong playoff run.

That season, Sidney Crosby and the Penguins ran into the Detroit Red Wings machine that ground them up in six games.

That summer, Hossa hit free agency. After having faced the bitter disappointment of losing a Stanley Cup, Hossa got a chance to join the very team he had lost to the previous spring. Hossa joined the Red Wings on a one-year deal in the summer of 2008.

As fate would have it, something out of a Seinfeld episode, Hossa and the Red Wings were back in the Stanley Cup in 2009 to face Crosby and the Penguins.

This time around, Sid the Kid got the last laugh, capturing his first career Stanley Cup. Hossa, once again, faced the agony of losing in the Stanley Cup Final.

Hossa was a free agent once again. But this time, he signed with an up-and-coming bunch. This group was led by a couple of young stars named Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. They needed veteran leadership and depth scoring.

So, Marian Hossa made all the sense in the world.

Marian Hossa went from dud to stud with Blackhawks

Hossa was back in the Stanley Cup final in 2010. This time, there would be no bitter ending. The Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in six games to capture their first championship since 1961.

As for Hossa, he scored three goals and added 12 assists for 15 points in 22 postseason games. Marian Hossa had managed to rewrite his personal story and, along the way, change the course of a franchise’s history.

The Blackhawks would win two more Stanley Cups with Hossa on the club. In 2013, the Blackhawks bounced the Boston Bruins in six games to capture their second championship in four seasons. Hossa was solid, scoring seven goals and 16 points in 22 games.

Hossa and the Blackhawks would etch their names on Lord Stanley’s Cup one more time in 2015. That season, the Blackhawks dumped the upstart Tampa Bay Lightning in six games to win their Cup in six seasons.

The remarkable feat transformed Marian Hossa from a great player into a legendary one. He would play his final season in 2017, leaving the ice due to a medical condition.

In 2020, the Hockey Hall of Fame came calling. Hossa was inducted in his first year of eligibility. His induction capped off a tremendous NHL career, one marked by glory and a dubious distinction that very few players can share.