Blue Line
Another Deadline Deal
By Bob Grove

On the June day back in 1997 when the National Hockey League Entry Draft was held at the Civic Arena, Ray Shero was an assistant general manager with Ottawa as the Senators selected a promising Slovakian right winger named Marian Hossa with the 12th overall pick.

Neither stayed in Ottawa for the long run, as Shero left for the Nashville front office and Hossa was eventually dealt to Atlanta. Late last month, at the 11th hour of the NHL trade deadline, they were reunited again in Pittsburgh when the Penguins' GM came out of nowhere to make the deal for Hossa that Montreal and Ottawa failed to make.

Pittsburgh sent its first-round pick last summer, center Angelo Esposito; its first-round pick this summer; center Erik Christensen; and right wing Colby Armstrong to Atlanta for Hossa and 28-year-old winger Pascal Dupuis. That blockbuster came shortly after Shero dealt a second-round 2008 pick and a fifth-round 2009 pick to Toronto for defenseman Hal Gill.

"This is a deal that was made more or less at the last minute," Shero said after acquiring Hossa, a 100-point scorer last season in Atlanta and arguably the biggest prize available at this year's deadline. "The chances a month ago for us to get Marian Hossa were about five percent. I think he is a world-class player. He's going to be a huge asset for our team."

How long the 29-year-old Hossa will be an asset is unknown, as he will be an unrestricted free agent after earning a whopping $7 million this season. Dupuis, too, is an unrestricted free agent come July 1, but Shero wants Hossa to think about hockey and let the free agent chips fall where they may this summer.

Hossa, whose acquisition gives the Penguins a big-time finisher to play beside Sidney Crosby while potentially allowing Evgeni Malkin to stay with linemates Petr Sykora and Ryan Malone, is looking forward to a long playoff run.

"I'm really looking forward to joining this group," he said. "You look at the centermen and you have Sid, Malkin and (Jordan) Staal. They are some really strong, great young players. They have good goaltending and good puck-moving defensemen. They create lots of offense. I am really looking forward to playing with these guys.

"I don't know who I will play with. If I play with Sid, that'd be great. He is the best centerman in the league and it'd be a pleasure to play with him."

Hossa comes into stretch run of the regular season and playoffs with something to prove. Although he's been producing nearly a point per game over his career - he had 638 points in 689 career games at the time of the trade and was headed for a seventh straight 30-goal season - has compiled an underwhelming 13 goals and 35 points in 55 career playoff games.

But with the Penguins just two points off the conference lead at the time of the trade, it was obvious to Shero that the playoff picture in the East was wide open.

"I think this gives us a better chance (to win)," he said. "I do believe we have a talent base that allows us to compete long-term. I don't think acquiring Hossa, Dupuis and Gill stops that. We have young assets, so the cupboards aren't bare. We still can be a long-term contender and be happy about it.

"The bigger picture is there is risk in anything you do. I feel very confident in our team right now and I want to give it every opportunity to win. At the same time, I do think we're still set up long-term very well. Hopefully, we'll get the best of both worlds."