But that team wasn’t the Chicago Blackhawks. It was the Ottawa Senators, the team that drafted Hossa 12th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Add in brief stints with the Atlanta Thrashers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, and Hossa had 339 goals before he arrived in Chicago.
That seems like the best way to sum up just how incredible his NHL career was:
Hossa might’ve garnered Hall of Fame consideration without the eight seasons he spent playing for the Blackhawks.
It all felt like it was over, though, after the bombshell report last summer that an allergic reaction to his hockey equipment was forcing Hossa into an early retirement.