Wow, where do I begin with this arrogance?
Well first, about that message board thing.... see here we go again, Detroit fans who know more about the Pens than we do. No, contrary to what you think, I didn't need some stinkin' message board -- I, unlike you and your fellow Wings fans, saw all the Hossa interviews on local TV, and read the papers. I put up one quote before from Hossa talking about how swell he thought playing for the Pens was, and how he'd just be tickled if he could get re-signed. (So yeah, I read the "hockey journalists" and all that.) That was pretty much the way he talked all June, spreading roses and perfume about the team. Oh he was just so tickled to be here!
Why then would you assume Pens' management knew he was going to leave?
Any way you look at it, Hossa smells bad here. If he knew he was leaving for Detroit all along, then he just used the Pens for leverage while talking out the other side of his mouth. If he was sincere about how gushy he felt, then he changed his mind at the last second, leaving the team to scramble with its free-agent plans. That's just common decency which would apply to any employee-company relationship. There's a reason companies ask for a two-week notice.
And as for your "he only was speaking about the Oilers" -- nice try. Did he or did he not ALSO have an offer from the Pens? C'mon man.
Again, why can't you just admit the possibility he acted like a ******? And be done with it.
Since it was you who made the claim that no amount of logic could sway your thoughts I guess this is a futile attempt to speak to an empty space and expect a response. I must be insane because despite this knowledge I am still talking.
My crack about your message board thing is a shot at all Pens fans who claim to have never had knowledge about Hossa wanting to play for Detroit. If you watched TSNs' trade deadline coverage they spoke about Hossa possibly moving to Detroit. In the off season there were many articles written about the connection between Hossa and the Wings (Tomas). Why can you not admit that everyone involved knew that Hossa wanted to play in Detroit?
You did not know, but you mean nothing in the decision process. The GM's, agents, and everyone knew. This invalidates your argument that Hossa cost them a chance to make other trades. They did not make other trades because they had no one to trade. The Pens lost several UFA's last July 1st and were left with only the ability to sign new players. But they have cap issues caused by having 2 superstar young players tied up long term. It is hard to do and yet they are in the finals again, you should be happy.
Hossa was forced to go to the Pens, while there he discovered that it is a good organization with good respectable fans and he had a great time. Once he was permitted to negotiate with the Wings (July 1st) there was very little in the media about him talking with the Pens. I do not know what happens behind closed doors (as you like to point out), but if the media does not talk about it then there was likely not much. I am sure he enjoyed the respect and experience of playing for the Pens and getting so close to the cup. Why would you feel he was lying when he spoke highly of your organization? There is nothing that has happened to make me think he would hate the Pens... explain why you think he lied. By assuming he lied when he said the Pens are a good organization you are then suggesting that you think the Pens are not a good organization. See how ignoring logic can backfire.
He loved playing for the Pens, but he wanted to play with Tomas his friend. If you had a choice to return to a team full of guys you knew for 4 months or to a team where your closest friend plays which would you choose. Tomas had been bragging about the wings to Hossa for years, he did not hate on the Pens he showed some love to the Wings.
The Pens offered less money then the Oilers. I do not recall exactly what it was, but it was lower. The Pens had salary cap issues and could not offer what the Oilers were putting on the table. He left the big money in Edmonton. That is when he made that statement and that has nothing to do with the Pens. If he did not sign in Detroit he would have signed in Edmonton for big money. He would be making lots of cash right now and still not playing for the Pens. He was going to leave, sure no one know for certain where but the money was on the table and he turned it down to choose Detroit. Even a die hard Pens fan must admit that the Wings were a better choice then the Oilers this year.
Decency is how I would describe Hossa. He spoke about how great the Pens are/were to play for and then looked around for offers when his time there was finished. His contract expired July 1st with nothing tying him to Pittsburgh. He then looked at offers from many teams and accepted one with the Wings, the team he had longed to play for. In the end the Pens could not pay what the Oilers offered, and the Wings had Hossa's friend and a tradition of the most successful franchise of the last 15 years to pull him over.
He did not knock the Pens, get over it!
