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Marian Hossa

Snapshots: Three Stars, Hossa, Draft Rankings

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The NHL has released their three stars for last week, and Nikita Kucherov finds himself on top once again. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward now has 94 points on the season to lead the entire league and has recorded at least two in each of his last four games. That gives Kucherov 28 multi-point games this season and makes him a near lock for his second consecutive 100+ point season. The 25-year old has become an almost unmatched offensive powerhouse the last few seasons and will likely be a finalist for (if not the outright winner of) the Hart Trophy this year.

Fellow Russian sniper Vladimir Tarasenko took home the second star for his ten-point effort, another reason why the St. Louis Blues are the NHL’s hottest team. Tarasenko was included in trade rumors at one point this season, but is now on pace to come close to his career-high in points of 75. Third place went to Sidney Crosby who is having another incredible season even without some of the usual fanfare. Crosby has 72 points in 56 games and will likely continue his streak of point-per-game seasons that has lasted his entire career.

  • When Marian Hossa stepped away from the NHL in 2017 due to a mysterious skin condition, many struggled to accept his explanation. That was because it happened to coincide with Hossa’s salary dropping dramatically, meaning he wasn’t leaving very much money on the table by essentially retiring. Now, in an incredible interview with The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required), Hossa opens up about the condition and how it affected his life and playing career.  After a trade from Chicago, Hossa’s contract remains on the Arizona Coyotes books and will until 2021 when it eventually expires. He won’t be playing hockey again, but his health and life have returned to some level of normalcy.
  • While Powers was busy releasing a feature on Hossa, Athletic colleague Scott Wheeler was releasing his midseason draft rankings (subscription required). Wheeler continues to have Jack Hughes as an easy choice in the top spot and doesn’t see it as “a 1A and 1B” draft with fellow top prospect Kaapo Kakko. Arthur Kaliyev, who scored two more goals today for the Hamilton Bulldogs to give him 47 on the season, sits at 13th and is the top OHL player available. As Corey Pronman of The Athletic points out on Twitter, Kaliyev is in rare (and impressive) territory in terms of draft eligible goal scorers from the OHL.

Central Notes: Bowman, Bishop, Laine, Edmundson

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While he may not be the most popular person in Chicago lately, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman sat down with The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) in an in depth interview, going over the state of the franchise. While Bowman is aware of fans’ displeasure with the recent firing of coach Joel Quenneville as well as the state of the team’s salary cap over the past few years, Bowman said he must remain focused on the present.

“It definitely comes with the job,” Bowman said. “When you take this job, you understand that part of it is the fans have a passion for the team, which I wouldn’t want any other way. So, yeah, I don’t follow it in the sense that whatever people say, they’re going to say, and I need to do what I think is right because I believe in it. If I start getting into the weeds and trying to follow it, then it can just distract me from I have a job to do.”

Bowman did say that although many fans feel that he waited too long to trade the contract of Marian Hossa to Arizona this summer (the trade happened on July 12), but that was the first time that the Coyotes agreed to take on Hossa’s contract. Regardless, fans were upset that the team wasn’t able to use the extra $4.5MM in cap space created by that trade as most offseason work was already done by teams at that point. Bowman said he intends to be patient in using that cap space.

“The one thing you don’t want to do is just use it to just to get somebody who doesn’t really fit, and it’s going to preclude you from doing something else later,” Bowman said. “I’m not sitting on it to sit on it, but nothing has come along. Like there’s been potential trades, but the guy’s got two more years on his deal. Like he could help us in the short term, but we’re going to be able to do better than that. You just got to be patient. That’s the thought process.”

  • Mike Heika of NHL.com writes that the Dallas Stars may be close to getting back starting goaltender Ben Bishop who has been out for almost a week with a lower-body injury. Heika writes that Anton Khudobin is expected to start Tuesday in Edmonton, followed likely be Landon Bow on Wednesday in Calgary. However, the scribe writes that Bishop might be ready for the team’s game in Vancouver on Saturday. Bishop is having a impressive season with a 2.33 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 15 games.
  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that while Patrik Laine knew he’d break out of his 19-game five-on-five scoreless slump earlier this season, it did weigh on him as it wore on. However, after scoring eight of his 11 goals this week on five-on-five, Laine feels more confident than ever, but credits his new linemates’ Bryan Little and Kyle Connor for much of his success. Much of Laine’s success has been with his recent chemistry with Little. The two struggled connecting for the past two years, especially last season. Those five-on-five struggles disappeared after the team added Paul Stastny at the trade deadline, but the Laine and Little finally seem to have found that connection this year.
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann writes that St. Louis Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson has been working hard lately to avoid penalties. In his last 11 games, Edmondson has been called for a penalty in eight of those games and the 25-year-old leads the team with 29 penalty minutes. “I think I’m getting a little wild with my stick,” Edmundson said. “Sometimes the game gets the better half of me and I take out my frustrations. I’m looking to be smarter in that department. Sometimes I get worked up a bit and anger takes over. Coach (Berube) has talked to me. I just have to settle down a bit.”

Chicago Blackhawks Sign MacKenzie Entwistle

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The Chicago Blackhawks have signed MacKenzie Entwistle to a three-year, entry-level contract, inking one of the pieces they received in the Marian Hossa trade earlier this year. Entwistle is currently playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL, where he’ll spend the whole season before starting his professional career.

The Hossa trade was almost exclusively about dumping his contract for the Blackhawks, but Entwistle does represent a legitimate prospect that they received in return. Once projected as a first-round pick in the 2017 draft, a bout of mono and disappointing offensive production dropped Entwistle to the third round where the Coyotes eventually picked him with the 69th selection. Despite his obvious talents, he still failed to really explode offensively in 2017-18 and had just 38 points in 49 games before heading into the playoffs. That’s where his production spiked, and Entwistle once again wowed scouts with his ability to drive the puck hard to the net.

A classic large framed winger, Entwistle still needs to add strength and weight as he physically matures in order to really play to his strengths. He’ll flash plus hands at times, but needs to be able to rely on his power and reach at both ends of the ice. This is just the next step in that development process, one which the Blackhawks hope they can hurry along in order to provide their NHL club with some more talent up front.

Jordan Maletta Placed On Unconditional Waivers

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Friday: Maletta has cleared waivers and will see his contract terminated.

Thursday: According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Chicago Blackhawks have placed Jordan Maletta on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. Maletta was acquired by the Blackhawks as part of the Marian Hossa trade with the Arizona Coyotes and is in the final season of his entry-level contract.

Maletta, 23, is likely facing the end of his playing career after not being medically cleared to attend camp this season and instead taking a role with the Niagara IceDogs coaching staff (though he’s not listed in any official capacity so far). The young forward played parts of four seasons in Niagara during his junior career, and is originally from the area.

Though he obviously wasn’t the central target for the Hossa trade, Maletta had shown some promise as an undrafted minor league player. In 2016-17 with the Cleveland Monsters, he scored 12 goals and 23 points in 76 games while being a big part of the team’s penalty kill. There was little chance he would play a big role in the NHL at any point in his career, but there was certainly reason to believe he could contribute at the minor league level if healthy. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, and he’ll see his contract terminated by the Blackhawks tomorrow.

Central Notes: Blackhawks, Fabbri, Nichushkin, Greenway, Johnson

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With a significant amount of cap space remaining to them, the Chicago Blackhawks find themselves in an unusual position. The team has been very quiet this offseason, not including the trade that sent Marian Hossa to Arizona or signing Cam Ward to be the backup goaltender. However, with almost $5.5MM in cap space available to them, the Blackhawks have a number of options in front of them, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required).

The scribe writes that one option is to spend some of that money on current free agents, but aside from Rick Nash, there are few options there. With Brandon Davidson agreeing to a PTO, the team could look to add a couple more of those to bolster their roster as they do have a number of youngsters expected to make the team. If one should struggle, the team could lean on those free agents. The team could also make a deal for a player a team is looking to unload before the season starts.

Powers also adds one of the better possibilities would be to wait for the trade deadline and acquire a player then. The only issue there is that there is no guarantee that Chicago will be heading back to the playoffs. Another down season could send them back to the lottery, which means they wouldn’t want to spend that money on deadline acquisitions. Of course, the final option would be to do nothing, but regardless, the team is better off with cap room than in past years. It’s now just how they intend to spend it.

  • The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) profiles the recovery of St. Louis Blues’ winger Robby Fabbri, who missed the entire 2017-18 season after enduring a setback in his recovery during training camp last season from ACL surgery that he had after suffering a knee injury on Feb. 4, 2016. Now after two surgeries and a full year to recover, Powers shows what the 22-year-old has gone through and how he is finally ready to compete for a top-six role for the Blues this year.
  • The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) studies the film of Valeri Nichushkin, who had a impressive rookie season back in the 2013-14 season, then missed most of the following season. After just an average showing the next year, Nichuskin left the NHL for the KHL, but now is returning after a pair of average seasons there. Now back, Shapiro suggests that his more developed 6-foot-4 frame should be a major factor in front of the net, but that a 30-point season would be a realistic expectation for the 23-year-old as he isn’t considered to be a great finisher in front of the net.
  • The Minnesota Wild may have been quiet all offseason, but the team may make multiple lineup changes this season. One person who is likely to benefit will be Jordan Greenway. The 21-year-old signed with the Wild after a three-year stint with Boston University and is expected to jump right into the lineup, according to the StarTribune’s Sarah MacLellan. “I think he’s ready,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “ … It’s his job to lose.” Greenway appeared in 11 games for Minnesota last year, posting an assist in six regular season games, and a goal and an assist in five playoff games.
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas writes that considering the strength of the team’s defense, new backup goaltender Chad Johnson should thrive in the Blues system and be able to put up solid numbers. Johnson, who struggled immensely in Buffalo last year, posting a .891 save percentage in 36 games, is likely to have a bounce back season. In fact, Thomas writes that Johnson’s career numbers are actually quite a bit better than former backup Carter Hutton, who is now in Buffalo.

Over The Cap: Detroit Red Wings

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Although the St. Louis Blues are dangerously close to the salary cap ceiling and the defending Stanley Cup champs of the past three years, the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, are within an uncomfortable distance, the Detroit Red Wings are the only team who have surpassed the NHL’s $79.5MM limit at this point in time. When the team re-signed franchise center Dylan Larkin to a five-year, $30.5MM contract last week, his $6.1MM  salary boosted Detroit’s payroll for the coming season to $82.772MM for just 21 players. The Red Wings currently sit more than $3.2MM over the salary cap with a roster that contains just six defenseman. While the NHL CBA allows teams to surpass the cap by 10% in the off-season – up to $87.45MM – the Red Wings must clear enough space to begin the season under the cap.

Once the season is underway, the salary cap is unlikely to be much of an issue. Johan Franzen, who last played in October of 2015, has been sidelined with post-concussion symptoms for the past three seasons and is almost surely not going to return to the Detroit lineup. His $3.955MM contract on the long-term injured reserve will wipe out all of the Red Wings’ cap overages. Additionally, it remains a very real possibility that captain Henrik Zetterberg may also be on the shelf this year and possibly done with his hockey career altogether, with a nagging back injury reportedly making his availability over the final two years of his contract an “unknown”.  If Zetterberg doesn’t play, his $6MM cap hit added to Franzen’s on LTIR would give the Wings more than enough space.

However, injured reserve transactions cannot be made until after the official start of the NHL season. This has previously caused teams to trade away players unlikely to ever play again due to health, with the Chicago Blackhawks’ Marian Hossa as the latest example, even though their cap hits can be absorbed. A team tight against the cap, like Detroit, may struggle to manipulate their roster enough to fit those injured players under the cap on day one. As such, the easiest way that the team could get under the cap prior to the start of the season would be to find a taker for Franzen’s contract. The Wings would have to part with a pick or prospect, but may be able to unload the deal to a team far from the cap ceiling. If Detroit is certain that Zetterberg is also done, they could do the same with his contract, although a higher cap hit means parting with greater trade capital.

Barring an injured player salary dump, the Red Wings are likely left with the reality that they must trade a roster player in the next two months. The team may be able to sneak players like Martin Frk and Luke Witkowski through waivers before the season begins, but it would not result in enough savings to make a difference. Detroit would be unlikely to expose anyone else to waivers simply to clear space briefly. As such, it appears as if someone must go. While Red Wings fans and leadership alike might like the idea of shipping an aging defenseman like Niklas Kronwall or Jonathan Ericsson away or trying to sweet talk some team into taking on the behemoth contract of Frans Nielsen or Justin Abdelkader, it would be a surprise to see any team with interest in that foursome. The likes of Danny DeKeyser and Trevor Daley may also be immovable for a team rife with poor contracts. Instead, impending free agent Gustav Nyquist or two-way center Darren Helm are the most likely candidates, while a player like Luke Glendening heading elsewhere paired with some clever waiver action could do the trick. There is also a chance that, if he proves to be healthy, some team might be interested in Zetterberg.

It’s never a great situation for a team to be forced into trading away assets simply to become cap compliant for one day, but trading away an older player would nevertheless be a step in the right direction for a team that has never truly embraced a rebuild. Opening up salary with a trade, as well as an LTIR placement for Franzen, would allow the Red Wings some flexibility to test out some young players this season while building around their established young core, headlined by Larkin. The salary cap crunch could prove to be their ally long-term, but in the short-term the team is left with little option but to make a move and hope for the best.

Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes Complete Seven-Player Trade

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Marian Hossa won’t be playing in the NHL this season (or likely ever again), but his contract is still on the books for the Chicago Blackhawks. Though they can place it on long-term injured reserve to get some cap relief, doing so still complicates things for a team that is always pushing right against the cap ceiling. Because of this there has been plenty of speculation about the team moving out Hossa’s deal to a team closer to the salary cap floor, and that team is the Arizona Coyotes. The Blackhawks have sent Hossa, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle and a 2019 third-round pick to the Coyotes in exchange for Marcus Kruger, Andrew Campbell, MacKenzie Entwistle, Jordan Maletta and a 2019 fifth-round pick.

This isn’t the first time the Coyotes have done something like this, as they previously took on Pavel Datsyuk’s contract after he returned to Russia, Chris Pronger’s deal after he was forced out of the game by injury, and still have Dave Bolland on the roster despite him never playing a game in Arizona.

Hossa, 39, has three years remaining on the 12-year, $63.3MM contract he signed in 2009, but is actually only owed $3MM in salary due to the front-loaded nature of the deal. That cap hit hurts for the Blackhawks, as Hossa isn’t able to play due to a skin condition that has worsened over his career and forced him into retirement after the 2016-17 season. For Arizona though it wouldn’t have much impact as the team isn’t expected to push all the way up to the cap ceiling this year. For the low cost of covering whatever insurance won’t of the $3MM (CapFriendly reports the deal is 80% insured), they will add assets that could pay off quickly as they try to rebuild the franchise and make it back to the playoffs.

Hinostroza and Oesterle are both useful players who showed last season that there may be more to their skill set than previously believed. The former is a sixth-round pick who has turned into a legitimate NHL offensive threat—Hinostroza scored 25 points in 50 games last season despite relatively limited minutes—and recently signed a two-year contract that will pay him a total of $3MM. He’ll still be a restricted free agent at the contract’s end, and should fit in nicely on a young Arizona roster that wants to play with speed and skill.

The latter, Oesterle, found new life in his career when he debuted in Chicago. Quickly ascending to the top pair alongside Duncan Keith, the undrafted defenseman ended up with 15 points in 55 games and excellent possession statistics. Whether he’ll find that kind of success in Arizona isn’t clear—Oesterle struggled to find playing time on the Edmonton Oilers through the first part of his career—but at the very worst he’s an extremely cheap depth option for the Coyotes. The 26-year old will earn the league minimum of $650K this season before hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent next summer.

For Chicago, getting anything of value back in a trade like this is a positive. The team has cleared Hossa’s contract off the books while bringing back a familiar face in Kruger, who was part of the team’s last two Stanley Cup victories and had the best seasons of his career in a Blackhawks uniform. Dealing with injury last season he struggled mightily for the Carolina Hurricanes and was eventually sent to the minor leagues. The Blackhawks will hope that’s not the story this year, as he’s still carrying a cap hit of almost $3.1MM.

Maletta and Campbell will more than likely spend the entire 2018-19 season in the minor leagues and aren’t expected to make an impact at any point in the NHL, but Entwistle could be a different story. The 2017 third-round pick is a big lanky winger that played down in the Hamilton Bulldogs lineup this year but made quite an impact in the OHL playoffs. Once a very intriguing prospect the shine has come off him somewhat in the last year, but there’s no telling what he could become at this point. He’ll turn 19 in a few days and will play next season again in the OHL.

There will be obvious speculation surrounding the Blackhawks now that they’ve cleared some cap room, as the team now projects to have $9.3MM in free space for next season. While CapFriendly’s estimate of that number only includes nine forwards and six defensemen, there is obviously room for the team to add some bigger names over the next few months. The team has been linked in the past to potential scoring threats like Jeff Skinner and Max Pacioretty, but will still have to spend their assets carefully in any trade. The team can’t afford to get into any more long-term contracts for aging players if they want to compete down the road, but they do want to give the team a chance at the playoffs this year. You can bet that GM Stan Bowman is still working the phones trying to use that cap space on something, and there isn’t much left on the free agent market that could help the Blackhawks.

Snapshots: Hossa, Zadina, Brassard

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The Chicago Blackhawks have been quieter than usual this offseason and one reason that has been the case is that while it has some cap room to work with, the team didn’t have enough to make a major splash in free agency. The team had been linked at one time or another to players such as James van Riemsdyk, James Neal and David Perron, but were unable to work out a deal and a lot of that has to do with cap space. With its minor moves made after free agency began when the team inked Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward and Brandon Manning, the team only has just over $2MM to work with.

That’s where the contract of Marian Hossa comes in. His contract of $5.275MM is still stuck on the books for yet another offseason until the team can put it on LTIR to free up the money at the start of the NHL season. That’s what Chicago did last season, using that money to sign defenseman Cody Franson and using it on shuttling AHL talent back and forth all season. However, that didn’t work, according to The Athletic’s Scott Powers.

The general belief was the team wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice and would attempt to deal the bloated contract to a team that needs the contract to get them to the cap floor. However, there haven’t been any takers as teams want an asset in return for them to take on the 39-year-old’s contract, which the Blackhawks don’t want to do. They were burned back in 2016 when they threw in Teuvo Teravainen to Carolina to get the Hurricanes to take Bryan Bickell’s final year of his contract off their books. Teravainen put up 64 points this season.

One way or another, especially if the team still has plans to make a big offseason move, is to find a way to get Hossa and his contract permanently off their books, even if they have to give up a prospect.

  • With questions surrounding where prized 2018 first-rounder Filip Zadina may end up if he doesn’t make the Detroit Red Wings NHL lineup next season has been up for debate as there are rumors that the sixth-overall pick does not have to return to his junior team next season and could be eligible to jump right to the AHL. However, regardless on how the NHL decides that case, NBC Sports James O’Brien writes that it shouldn’t even matter. He writes that the team shouldn’t want Zadina to make the team next season as the team’s main focus should be to garner another high-end lottery pick next season to complete their rebuild. A 25-goal season by the flashy winger, who many had pegged as the No. 3 pick in the draft, could vault the team to that unenviable position of not being good enough to make the playoffs, but not being bad enough to get an elite prospect either. O’Brien hopes that the addition of free agent Thomas Vanek might help force Zadina to get much needed development time in the minors, no matter where he ends up.
  • Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that while he envisions the Pittsburgh Penguins keeping Phil Kessel, who has been rumored to be moved out for much of the offseason, he could see the team move on from trade deadline acquisition Derick Brassard. The team suddenly has five centers and of them all Brassard is the most expendable. He has one year remaining on his deal at $3MM, but struggled to produce once he got to Pittsburgh, especially in the playoffs, posting just four points in 12 playoff games.

West Notes: Blackhawks, Karlsson, Canucks

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The Blackhawks have expressed an interest in moving up from the eighth spot in Friday’s NHL Entry Draft, reports Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.  However, GM Stan Bowman admitted that given the uncertainty of who will be picked starting at the number three selection, teams thus far have been hesitant to move down.  He also acknowledged that the team is “looking at our options” when it comes to possibly trading the contract of winger Marian Hossa.  While his career is over, he isn’t filing his retirement papers yet so he remains on the salary cap.  While Chicago can just put him back on LTIR for next season (and beyond), a team looking to stay at the cap floor while spending less in actual dollars may have some interest, similar to what Arizona did a couple of years ago with the additions of Pavel Datsyuk and Dave Bolland.

Elsewhere out West:

  • The Golden Knights have not yet started contract discussions with pending RFA center William Karlsson, reports David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Lady Byng winner is coming off of a career year where he tallied 43 goals and 35 assists; for perspective, his previous career-best in points was 25.  Accordingly, he figures to be one of the more fascinating RFA cases in recent memory.  Karlsson stated that his preference is to get a long-term deal done this summer.
  • If the Canucks decide to move the seventh selection tomorrow night (something they are open to doing), they’re expected to covet a 20-23-year-old player in return, notes Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province. That player wouldn’t necessarily need to already be established in the NHL but it seems to be clear that they’re targeting that particular age bracket to line up with their younger core.  If they decide to keep the pick, GM Jim Benning admitted that he’s leaning towards picking a defenseman.

Blackhawks’ Marian Hossa Announces End Of Playing Career

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Chicago Blackhawks star Marian Hossa, who sat out the 2017-18 season due to a skin disorder and the side effects of the medications that came with it, announced that his playing career is officially over to Slovakian site Novy cas, according to Chicago Sun Times’ Mark Lazerus. While Elite Prospects listed him as retired, The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) does not mention retirement, but adds that Hossa wants to join the Chicago Blackhawks’ front office in three years when his contract expires, suggesting that he will not file retirement paperwork until then, which would allow Chicago to keep the veteran on LTIR for the next three years.

“I will not play hockey anymore,” Hossa said. “I have a valid contract with Chicago for another three years, but I have only one health and it does not allow me to return.”

The 39-year-old played 19 seasons in the NHL, eight of which for the Blackhawks as a key contributor to three Stanley Cup titles. Hossa, a five-time all-star, has had a distinguished career as he’s posted 1,134 points in 1,309 games and has been touted as one of the best defensive forwards of the game. He had a productive season in 2016-17, his last, as he put up 26 goals and 19 assists.

General manager Stan Bowman confirmed at the end of the Blackhawks season last month that Hossa’s situation had not improved.

“What I do know is that his status is unchanged,” Bowman said. “His physical condition hasn’t improved, so at this point there’s no indication he’s going to play next year, either. That’s about all I know at this point. We’ll probably have more discussions on that in the coming weeks, but his medical condition is unchanged.”

Hossa, who has been listed on LTIR for the 2017-18 season, still has three years remaining on the 12-year, $63.3MM deal he signed in 2009, which counts for a $5.275MM cap hit. On LTIR, Chicago only has to pay $1MM in salary per season. Powers writes the team will likely attempt to trade Hossa to free themselves from his contract entirely.

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