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Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:59 pm EDT

Hossa's 'slap in the face' of Pittsburgh, Orpik's Penguin loyalty

By Greg Wyshynski

The Photoshop attacks on Marian Hossa have already started over on The Pensblog, and we wouldn't dare tell a Pittsburgh Penguins fan today that he or she isn't allowed a few moments of unadulterated rage and frustration against Hossa and anyone else involved in the Great Steel City Exodus of 2008.

Let Jeff H. on The Pensblog tie a rope around Hossa in a Winged Wheel sweater and dangle him over money bags. Let The Steel City Sports Fan proclaim that Hossa is a perfect fit with the Detroit Red Wings because he'll be a great addition to their "Arrogance on Ice" routine. Let SnoopyJode of The Sidney Crosby Show slam Hossa for declarations of faith to the Penguins before he turned around and signed with the team that ended his season.

All of these emotions are completely understandable because Hossa said this: "I want to have a best chance to win the Stanley Cup. I feel like Detroit is the team."

Ouch. Just ouch. Hossa is so certain about the Red Wings giving him a better shot to win than the Penguins that he's willing to risk tens of millions on a one-year contract and the chance an injury could derail his financial future. An agent told Rob Rossi of Chipped Ice that the one-year deal in Detroit is "a huge slap to the face of Pittsburgh and Sid (Crosby)." The fans felt the impact, too.

That's why today's MVP is Brooks Orpik, who has been watching the kingdom crumble but decided to come back to Pittsburgh. Orpik's decision reminded us of "Jerry Maguire," when Bob Sugar is on the phone stealing all of Jerry's clients while Maguire works his behind off just to keep Rod Tidwell from leaving. Orpik signed a six-year, $22.5 million deal that averages out to $3.75 million per year. The best defensive defenseman on the market will make less than Ron Hainsey. So it wasn't so much Ray Shero screaming "show me the money," as it was "I love Brooks Orpik ... here's your sixth year."

It's a brief sigh of relief amidst the rage. Although the rage returns so easily. Like when you hear Detroit GM Ken Holland describe the process of signing Hossa in the just-released video below, saying that "Marian told me at that time he would love to play for the Red Wings" ... back at the trade deadline.

Related: Stanley Cup Playoffs, Hockey Fans, Puck Videos, Rumors, scuttlebutt, innuendo

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226 Comments

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  1. Sir Stebe
    1. Posted by Sir Stebe Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:24 pm EDT

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    "Great Steel City Exodus of 2008."
    Got to love that line lol!!
  2. mrdetroit
    2. Posted by mrdetroit Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:27 pm EDT

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    HAHAHAHAHAHA GO WINGS Too bad that he did not think highly enough of the Cryotes to sign here and possibly play with his brother. Gretz thinks we have a good team ? Maybe in 5 years on paper , but we've heard that since they moved here. And speaking of moving, why not move our farm team to Winnipeg ? What better than the threat of sending a player there in the middle of winter if they are not playing well . It might just be the ticket to keep them from fading towards the end of the season.
  3. Maraldo
    3. Posted by Maraldo Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:34 pm EDT

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    hard to blame him, 2 cup finalists, 1 loses a couple of important players, 1 keeps practically every player except for a few retirees. It's business, he apparently wants a cup bad enough to risk the chance of injury over the safety of a couple millions, aaaaand hitting free agency again next year. Malkin, Crosby, Fleury, and Staal are all still so young, they will have chances again in the future. I'm disapointed with Hossa but I'm not going to hate the guy for this decision, he earned the right to go anywhere he wants, for however much he wants.
  4. zyko monkey
    4. Posted by zyko monkey Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:49 pm EDT

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    wow, penguins fans are immature. this game, like every other one, is a business and every player owes it to himself to do what is right for them. while he played against the wings in the finals, he saw what a great team is like in how they dismantled the team he was on. he knows that the wings are the favorites to win it again. he was a pickup by the pens... not a long-lasting franchise player...
    the arrogance on ice?
    that's pittsburgh. detroit has dominated the league with or without the cap, before and after the strike and will continue to dominate because they're a well-run organization that every professional player should hope to play for. its like wanting to work for a good company with great benefits.
    don't knock hossa and certainly don't knock the redwings.
    go wings!
  5. 9
    5. Posted by 9 Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:22 pm EDT

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    gotta honk out a big "ditto that" to the comments listed 4 and 5 here, well put.
  6. Whale4ever
    6. Posted by Whale4ever Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:21 pm EDT

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    All is not lost for PIT; looks like their getting Bertuzzi.
    SARCASM ALERT: That should brighten the mood in the locker room.
  7. sxus_tiorted
    7. Posted by sxus_tiorted Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:13 pm EDT

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    What would anyone from Detroit know about working for a "GOOD" company?? Isn't Detroit the unemployment capital of the free world? Maybe that was the crime capital of the free world. No, it's both. Save your quarters Hossa to hand out to the homeless people of Detroit. Hope you don't get jacked.
  8. Dan H
    8. Posted by Dan H Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:34 pm EDT

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    I Don't knock Hossa or the Wings, they're the Yankee's of the NHL. If ya got spend it. Go Pens
  9. acardillac
    9. Posted by acardillac Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:44 pm EDT

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    What exodus? They signed Malkin and Orpik to long term deals. Fleury is next. And next year it'll be Stahl. With Crosby, Gonchar and Whitney already under contract. That's their core nucleus right there. All really young and will only get better. Malone was a ham and egger until this past year, Ruutu is an agitator and Laraque was the goon - they're all a dime a dozen. Hossa was just a mercenary, and the Pens will just get another either now or at the trade deadline. If not, then they'll bring someone up from the minors. That team was pretty good this year too - Calder Cup finalist.
  10. Keedo
    10. Posted by Keedo Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:48 pm EDT

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    I don't blame Pens fans for being upset with the exit of an outstanding player like Hossa. Real hockey players go where championships can be won fair and square without being tied to the refs apron strings! A sign of a championship team is one of players NOT taking cheap shots on their opponents but playing hardnosed competitive hockey. The Detroit Red Wings play hard and clean and only resort to hitting back when their opponents play like a bunch of back ally thugs. I'm a Detroit fan all my life and have been through it all like most teams fans, but the fact is I love hockey like no other. I watched the Pens against Philly and even in those games the refs made me sick. When will the NHL quit telling their refs to cheat and make sickening calls for whatever the leagues reasons are? This year was the worst I've ever seen in my life (I'm 59) and I know every fan out there is disgusted with the NHL refs, right? All I know is the Winged Wheel will be picking up speed with Hossa and I hope he stays a Wing for the rest of his great career.
  11. Shyster
    11. Posted by Shyster Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:56 pm EDT

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    How can you guys compare the Wings to the Yankees!? Everyone has the same amount of money in the NHL; the Pens just spent all theirs on 3 players. Oh yeah....and the diss on the city of Detroit....how original. I think you deserve a big GO WINGS!!
  12. Maraldo
    12. Posted by Maraldo Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:34 pm EDT

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    for being 59, Keedo, you sure do cry like a 12 year old girl about officiating....dare i say it? ....grow up
  13. d-no
    13. Posted by d-no Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:45 pm EDT

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    OK so it's pretty much a given that the Wings win the cup in '09. Will that cup put Osgood in the Hall of Fame?
  14. Colin
    14. Posted by Colin Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:30 pm EDT

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    I agree with Keith, losing Conklin might turn out to be huge. Bring Jags back, he has at least one great season left in his legs.
  15. Ash
    15. Posted by Ash Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:58 pm EDT

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    Nothings a given, the season hasn't even started yet. Lets not get ahead of ourselves.
  16. Bubbabanjo
    16. Posted by Bubbabanjo Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:05 pm EDT

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    Wyshynski you stink!
    So does Marion Hose-bag.
  17. Bubbabanjo
    17. Posted by Bubbabanjo Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:05 pm EDT

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    BTW...Wings are a great team...original 6. No doubt there.
    The fan-boy Win-nuts in this blog suck brats and blow perogies. You guys are tools.
    Wyshynski...you stink.
  18. Wings Fan
    18. Posted by Wings Fan Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:22 pm EDT

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    Yea,
    You win some and you lose some. As a Wings fan, it was tough loosing guys like Shanahan, Lang, Schneider,..etc.. This time things went the other way. We got a great player in Hossa and didn't really lose anyone. When it comes down to it, I think most players leave a team because they want to. I think Shanahan, Lang, and Schneider left because they wanted to. The more money thing is just a good excuse for the media and so the fans don't dog them too much (most offers are really close to the same). Hossa probably left because he wanted to. Face it, he wasn't really a Penguin yet. It takes a few years to become a crowd favorite or a franchise player like Crosby. He probably didn't fit in. Hope he fits in with the Wings!
  19. John444555
    19. Posted by John444555 Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:55 pm EDT

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    Hat's off to Orpik.
  20. mike a
    20. Posted by mike a Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:10 pm EDT

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    Arrogance on ice???
    Say what you like about our city and the criminals running it but do not insult the classiest team in hockey. They are humble about their successes and the players rave about the ownership and what a GREAT organization it is to be a part of. Look how long the players in Detroit stick around (Lidstrom, Draper, Maltby, Homstrom, YZERMAN and then look at how many come back (McCarty, Drake, Osgood, Hasek) see the pattern dumb*ss? There is a reason we have the cup and yes we know about good companies, they (GM, Ford & Chrysler) bought all their steel from you years ago until you started selling it to China and Japan. We are down but not out, once again we have The Cup.
  21. Wingsfan2520
    21. Posted by Wingsfan2520 Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:47 pm EDT

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    Yankees??? Typical ignorant comment. Salary cap system ring a bell?
  22. Wingsfan2520
    22. Posted by Wingsfan2520 Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:47 pm EDT

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    shmorticus I'm not going to bittch about the refs calls but you and the rest of the Pens fans would've complained just the same if the roles were reversed.
    Pens fans... Why get so upset? You still have a stellar team. I believe that Fluery is a better goalie than Ozzy. Behind him, Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar, Orpik and so on.... you're still sitting higher than most of the teams in the league.
  23. john h
    23. Posted by john h Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:39 pm EDT

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    go wings!!!!!!!
  24. Keedo
    24. Posted by Keedo Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:48 pm EDT

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    I wasn't crying for anyone but all the teams that play in the NHL. If you had half a brain and knew anything about the game you might understand what I'm talking about. Boys like you speak without knowing what the heck they're talking about. I'm not into a discussion about knowing anything of intelligence with an unarmed moron.
  25. wvanana
    25. Posted by wvanana Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:51 pm EDT

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    If Hossa wants to play for the Wings on the chance he can win the Cup with them, then let him go. The Pens don't need him anyway. They were doing quite well without him & could managed as well in the Stanley Cup series without him. Wonder where he will want to go next time if the Wings don't win the cup again next season? The Pens still have their core players, they will be just fine.

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Puck Daddy is an NHL blog edited by Greg Wyshynski. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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