Marian Hossa

Marián Hossa (born January 12, 1979) is a Slovak professional ice hockey right winger who currently plays for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 1997, Hossa has also played for the Atlanta Thrashers and Pittsburgh Penguins. After being drafted into the NHL, he played one season with the Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL, winning the Memorial Cup. He has played in four NHL All-Star games. Aside from his NHL career, Hossa also has had an extensive international career, appearing for Slovakia in several major hockey tournaments and two Olympics.

Ottawa Senators
Hossa was drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Ottawa Senators in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft from HC Dukla Trencin of the Slovak Extraliga, and shortly thereafter joined the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. In his only Junior season, Hossa tallied 45 goals and 40 assists for 85 points in 53 games, and led the Winter Hawks to the 1998 Memorial Cup Championship. In the third period of the championship game, he suffered a tear to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, yet returned to the ice to celebrate the 4-3 overtime victory with his teammates.

Hossa joined the Senators full-time during the 1998–99 season and was the runner-up to Colorado's Chris Drury in Calder Trophy voting for rookie of the year.

In 2000, while playing for the Senators, Hossa accidentally clipped Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Bryan Berard in the eye while following through on a slapshot and almost ended Berard's career. Though Berard would recover and resume his playing career, Hossa was deeply anguished over the incident.

Atlanta Thrashers
On the morning of August 23 2005 it was announced that, after a difficult negotiation, he had signed a three year $18 million deal with the Senators. However, that afternoon he was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers along with defenseman Greg de Vries for star forward Dany Heatley, who had requested a trade following the death of team-mate Dan Snyder. That season he scored 39 goals and added 53 assists for 92 points, surpassing his previous career high by ten points. In the 2006–2007 season, he made franchise history as the first Thrasher to score 100 points in one season, finishing with 43 goals and 57 assists; along with a plus/minus rating of +18.

Pittsburgh Penguins
At the 2007-08 trade deadline (Tuesday, February 26, 2008), he was traded by the Thrashers along with Pascal Dupuis to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Finalized just minutes before the actual deadline, the return for Atlanta was Penguins players Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen, prospect Angelo Esposito, and the Penguins' 2008 NHL Entry Draft first-round pick. After being injured in his first game as a Penguin, he missed the next six contests before rejoining the team for the conclusion of the regular season, finishing on a line with Dupuis and Sidney Crosby.

In the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he scored his first playoff OT goal in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Henrik Lundqvist; it was also the series winner. He finished as the second-leading scorer on the Penguins during their 20-game playoff run, scoring 12 goals (the most on the team including 3 in the Stanley Cup Final), along with 14 assists. While this strong playoff performance helped Hossa to shed a reputation for postseason underachievement, the Detroit Red Wings ultimately defeated the Penguins in six games and claimed the Stanley Cup, when Hossa's last-second attempt to tie Game 6 came up short.

Detroit Red Wings
On July 2, 2008, Hossa signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings worth $7.45 million. He reportedly turned down a multi-year offer from the Edmonton Oilers worth at least $9 million per season and a multi-year offer from the Penguins as well. Because longtime Wings' forward Kirk Maltby wears number 18 (which Hossa had worn his entire NHL career), Hossa wears number 81 with Detroit. He scored the 300th goal of his career on October 18, an overtime winner against the New York Rangers, which also was his first goal as a Red Wing. Marián got his 700th NHL point on February 4 against Phoenix, his second goal in Detroit's 5-4 win.

Team Slovakia
Hossa has represented the Slovak National Hockey Team on numerous occasions including the Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City in 2002 and Winter Olympics at Torino in 2006. He also played for Team Slovakia in 1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 World Ice Hockey Championships. His brother, Marcel Hossa, is a member of Riga Dynamo of the Kontinental Hockey League. Coincidentally, both of the Hossa brothers were traded on February 26 2008.

Transactions

 * Traded to Atlanta Thrashers by Ottawa Senators with Greg de Vries for Dany Heatley, August 23, 2005
 * Traded to Pittsburgh Penguins by Atlanta Thrashers with Pascal Dupuis for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito, and Pittsburgh's 1st round choice in 2008 NHL Entry Draft (Daultan Leveille)
 * Signed by Detroit Red Wings for one year worth $7.45 million.

International play
Hossa has had an extensive international career playing for Slovakia. He has played in seven World Championships, and two Olympics. While Slovakia has won three medals in the World Championships, Hossa was not a member of any of the medal winning teams.