Marian Hossa: Will He Stay or Go?

One year ago, the Red Wings pulled off a deal that nobody saw coming. They managed to get Marian Hossa to turn down long-term, big-money deals to go to Detroit and play on a one-year contract.

Many people believed this to be a one-year shot for Hossa, who was attempting to win his first Stanley Cup. After leading the Wings in goals with 40, Hossa headed into the playoffs looking to achieve his goal and win the Stanley Cup.

While playing great defense throughout the playoffs, Hossa offensively disappeared and was only able to put up six goals through 23 playoff games.

More importantly, Hossa saw the Stanley Cup Finals come and go with out scoring a single goal.

Now,with July 1 rapidly approaching, the Detroit Red Wings face a question: Will Hossa stay or go?

The Wings gave out two long-term contracts this year when they signed both Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen and many have speculated that they are looking to sign Hossa to a similar contract.

The benefit to the Wings for these long-term contracts is the ability to front load the contract and have the yearly salary decrease towards the end of the contract. By doing this, the team is able to achieve a lower cap number and keep more of their talent.

So what will Hossa do?

He has stated his desire to stay in Detroit and sign a long-term contract. Many Pens fans remember that he stated the same thing to them no more then a year ago.

The Wings would realistically have around $4 million remaining to sign Hossa, so in order to stay in Detroit, he would have to be willing to give the Wings a discount.

In the end, Hossa will end up staying with the Wings. He doesn't have to be the star here and if his goal is to win the Stanley Cup, there is no better place to give it a shot. Once the dust settles, I believe the Wings will end up giving Hossa a front-loaded, long-term deal, much like the contracts of Zetterberg and Franzen.

One thing is for sure, if Hossa does leave, you will not see fans burning Hossa jerseys, much like Penguin fans did last year. Should Hossa stay, he will need to reappear come playoff time or the love Wings fans have shown him will quickly vanish.