Superstar Almost Signed 12-Year Deal With Detroit

After scoring his 500th career goal yesterday in the Chicago Blackhawks uniform, former Detroit Red Wings’ forward Marian Hossa is only seven points away from 1,100 career points.

 

While Hossa’s tenure with the Red Wings was short-lived, general manager Ken Holland told an amazing story about how the player was signed in 2008 and the attempt to re-sign the star forward afterwards.

 

Holland had received a call (in a no-cell phone area) from Hossa’s agent informing him that the player “wanted to be a wing,” the GM told ESPN.com. The only problem was that it was on a one-year deal, and Hossa’s agent Ritch Winter knew that Holland would have to convince then-captain Nicklas Lidstrom to be the second-highest paid member of the Red Wings.

 

Thankfully, Winter called back to inform the GM that he would accept less money to play a year with Detroit, which the latter saw as a favor.

 

After losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins, Hossa was offered a reported 12-year, $4.5 million AAV contract by the Red Wings, which Hossa declined because he wanted to weigh his options.

 

“I said ‘you know what? You gave me one hell of a deal, I have to return the favor,’” Holland told Winter.