Hossa, a free agent and hot commodity after helping lead the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Finals, was ready to cash in on a long term deal. (Side note - why are all the hockey contracts these days so long? Like Rick DiPietro's contract with the Islanders a couple years ago, something like 11 years? Maybe there is some nuance in their collective bargaining agreement they are leveraging, but it just seems like that is way too long a time period to guarantee someone money for playing such a violent sport.) Instead he called up the Wings, who had given up on him since they couldn't afford to spend money on him and sign all of the internal free agents. Hossa was fine with that - he'd take less. Ken Holland told him that he couldn't make more than Nick Lindstrom, the team's Captain and leader. Hossa was fine with that too. So the Wings signed him to a one year deal, and Hossa can cash in next year - hopefully after hoisting the Cup.
The question is - will this be a new trend? Athletes SAY they want to win, but the money is what tips the scales time and again. A-Rod couldn't have expected to win in Texas, but that $252 million sure looked nice on the bank ledger. Jose Guillen couldn't think the Royals were contenders, but as long as the checks didn't bounce, he was fine. Some players give home town discounts when they re-sign with teams, but I don't really remember a player in his prime, with many teams ready to offer long term deals, eschewing that and going somewhere that truly gives him the best chance of winning. Will Detroit in hockey be a destination for Stanley Cup seeking free agents? A one-stop-shop for people trying to complete their trophy case? And is that a good thing or a bad thing?
What about other sports? Will there ever be a prime time free agent who decides purely based on the chance to win? And which teams would be the most likely destinations? I guess Randy Moss did that a little this past year when he re-signed in New England, but with his checkered past, who knows what money and how many years other teams would have given him.
I wish Hossa the best, and of course hope he succeeds in his quest in Detroit, but it is just one more thing that makes it hard to root for your team in sports these days. The turnover is so high, you have a hard time keeping track of the guys on your team...but that is for another day.
1 comment:
If good players want to come to Detroit, that's fine with me. The Red Wings still maintain a core of players from a while back (Lidstrom, Draper, Osgood and even McCarty are back). The team is still recognizable from year-to-year. If a star player wants to come here for a year or two, try to win a cup and maybe provide us a needed piece, that's fine with me.
A-Rod jumping at the big money on a losing team (esp. after writing a book called "It's not about the Benjamins" (or something like that)) is much worse than the opposite. It's the fans of a good team that can worry about teams coming together and dismantling so fast as players shop themselves around. But fans of a losing team can't be bothered to worry about that. I would love to see the Lions dismantled and made into something respectable.
I'm looking forward to seeing Hossa in a Red Wings jersey, even if he's a short-timer.
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