SOME OF US SAW THE HOSSA DEAL COMMING

Yesterday I wrote about how there will be some trades that would come from left field and catch us off guard, and “to most”, that trade was the Hossa to Penguins deal. I said “to most” because yours truly along with some Pens fans with big dreams saw this as a golden opportunity over month ago. Yes, we all got blasted when we made the bold statement on our blogs, message boards and rumor sites where we were laughed at and called silly. For my thoughts back in January just scroll a few posts down to CROSBY NEEDS HIS OWN KURRI and you will see how silly I was.

Now, in no way am I saying that the Pens didn’t give up a lot to get Hossa, but keep in mind when a chance to give the best playmaker in hockey a true sniper with speed riding shotgun, you do what ever it takes to do it. Sure there is no saying that Hossa will re-sign with the Pens and he may become a really expensive playoff rental, but they have the rest of the year figure it out and I just have the feeling that once Hossa and Crosby connect Hossa wouldn’t think of going anywhere else. Why would he? This is a win-win for both players and their production could easily hit the roof.

When you are talking about one of the most gifted players to ever play the game you have to surround them with the best possible players in order to get the best out of them. Remember how important Kurri was to Gretzky? Remember after Wayne went to the Kings how imperative it was for them to acquire Kurri? Remember the names involved in the 3-way trade between the Oilers, Flyers and Kings? Okay, I know you remember how important it was for the Rangers to get Kurri when they got Gretz and the names involved in getting that one done, right? Well then, what makes the Hossa deal any different? There is no questioning the dynamic that Kurri brought to Gretzky’s game and Hossa and Crosby are on the cusp of bringing us that same kind of brilliance.

I openly applaud the Penguins management for making this bold move and bringing the city of Pittsburgh a team that fans haven’t seen since the days of Mario, Francis and Jagr. If anyone is worried about screwing up the chemistry of the team, think about it. You are talking about a couple of truly gifted players who can play with anyone and now have a chance to take chemistry to a whole new level. They have some time left to click and when it happens, look out; this could be the best thing we’ve ever seen and the best thing for the game in decades.