Winger Marian Hossa agreed today to a one-year deal with the Wings. This is big news and gives the Wings a very dangerous player who can make the second line into a dangerous scoring threat every shift. Here is the article from the Free Press:
The Red Wings have come to terms with unrestricted free agent Marian Hossa for a one-year deal worth $7.4 million, further securing Detroit’s status as Stanley Cup favorites.
The contract would make Hossa, 29, the second-highest paid Wings player behind defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, but the short term ensures the Wings will have the money to re-sign Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen when their deals are up next summer.
Hossa adds more firepower to an already impressive forward corps. Last season, Hossa scored 29 goals and had 66 points in 72 games split between Atlanta and Pittsburgh. At 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, the winger also adds good size to the lineup.
“It’s fantastic,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “He fits into our philosophy in that he wants to win. He’s a two-way player like Pav and Z, and what I mean by that is, he’s as good with the puck as without. To me, he’s one of the top 15 forwards in the game.”
The Wings can now field two top lines chosen from among Hossa, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula, Tomas Holmstrom, Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson.
Yesterday, the Wings locked up Brad Stuart for four years, securing his return to a top-four defense that consists of Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and Niklas Kronwall. Signing Hossa has, without question, skyrocketed the Wings’ chances to repeat, and has given them a fresh ingredient for the coming season.
“After you win the Cup, it’s easy to be stale,” Babcock said. “You have to change things up a bit, and that’s what we’ve been able to do. It’s that excitment that helps your team get started. We like the steps we’ve taken.”
Hossa could have made considerably more, as it’s believed one team offered him a 10-year deal averaging $9.5 million per season.
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