Hossa heads to Chicago for $62.8M
Western Conference finalist Hawks also get Kopecky from Wings
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 | 7:33 PM ET
CBC Sports
Marian Hossa, far left, was forced to watch his former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate skate away with the Stanley Cup in June. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)Hoping to finally land on a Stanley Cup team, Marian Hossa has hooked up with his fourth club in three years.
Hossa, who played for the Detroit Red Wings this season, signed a 12-year, $62.8-million US contract with the Chicago Blackhawks during the NHL's free-agent signing period, which began Wednesday at noon.
The Blackhawks also picked up another Red Wing, 27-year-old winger Tomas Kopecky, in a two-year, $2.4-million US deal.
"To add [Marian and Tomas] to our exciting young core reinforces our commitment to try to win the Stanley Cup," Chicago general manager Dale Tallon said in a statement.
Hossa, 30, finished third in team scoring with the Red Wings in 2008-09 with 40 goals and 71 points.
He also added 15 points in the post-season, when the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks for the Western Conference championship.
But his decision to sign with the Red Wings rather than remain in Pittsburgh backfired in another respect.
After the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 2008, Hossa turned down a long-term deal from the Penguins, signing with Detroit for one year and $7.45 million US.
In this year's NHL final, the Penguins ousted Detroit to take the Stanley Cup at Joe Louis Arena, and Hossa failed to score a goal in the seven-game playoff.
Detroit and the Tampa Bay Lightning were also reportedly in the running for Hossa's services.
Hossa has scored 339 goals and 719 points in 775 career games, with Ottawa, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Detroit.
