Marian Hossa Is A First Ballot Hall Of Famer

Shout out to Marian Hossa. First Ballot Hall Of Fame and he ABSOLUTELY deserved it despite what some people speculated. 

Deep HOF class for sure, but realistically and objectively, Marian Hossa was better than all of those guys LeBrun mentioned. This is not a critique of LeBrun per se, but this take that Marian Hossa was a borderline first ballot guy. He wasn't. Hossa is as much of a slam dunk as there possibly can be. 

Usually when you talk about Hall of Fame guys their resumes are punctuated with stats or wins. Hossa has all of that in spades. 500+ goals, 1100+ points, 1300+ games, 3 Cups, two other trips to the Final, and he even led the Atlanta Fucking Thrashers to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

The craziest thing about ALL of those numbers is that the numbers don't even begin to tell the full story of how great he was. Marian Hossa is a perfect hockey player. Incredible defensive winger who should've been in the Selke discussion every single year. Strong as an ox with the puck on his stick. Smart, MONSTER shot, vision, and a competitive streak that would not be denied. There was a moment in the summer of 2009 when it was debated whether the Hawks would be better off with Hossa or Havlat. The Hawks had to wait until Thanksgiving time that year for Hossa to come back from a shoulder injury. In his first game as a Blackhawk against the San Jose Sharks, you could tell that Hossa was a different beast. He made the team better instantly. He was a weapon for Joel Quenneville. Power play, PK, up one goal, down one goal, d-zone, o-zone, the answer was always...Marian Hossa. When he was on the ice you knew that 45 seconds later things would be okay or that things would be better. That is the type of player he was and that is exceptionally rare. He had a lasting impact on the organization. They don't win three cups without him. I also don't think that it's a coincidence that things went to absolute shit in Chicago when he had to retire. 

So congrats to Hossa. Officially an all-time great, and...my dad's favorite player. 

Also, congrats to Dougie Wilson. Can't say that I remember him as a player, but I know he wore that indian head proudly so I respect that.