by Neil Hayes, Chicago Sun Times

It happened 11 years ago when Marian Hossa was playing for the Portland (Ore.) Winter Hawks in the Western Hockey League. The Blackhawks' newest cornerstone had shredded his knee earlier in the cup-clinching game. After the winning goal was scored, his teammates pushed him around the ice in a chair.

Hossa has been trying to relive that moment — sans the torn ligaments — in the Stanley Cup finals ever since.

''That's why I chose Chicago,'' he said. ''They have a chance to win the Cup.''

There was a lot of snickering when Pittsburgh upset the Red Wings in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals because Hossa left the Penguins to sign with the Red Wings because he thought he would have a better chance of hoisting the Cup.

Pittsburgh fans had every right to gloat. But no one can question Hossa's desire to win, which makes him a perfect match for the 'Hawks, who proved with the signing of yet another big-money free agent that they are far from satisfied by their recent feel-good resurgence. It's Stanley Cup or bust. That Hossa, who turned down tens of millions of dollars and long-term security to sign a one-year deal with Detroit before last season, believes the 'Hawks give him his best shot at fulfilling his ultimate dream is the latest indication that the 'Hawks may be inching closer to bringing a Stanley Cup to Chicago for the first time since 1961.

''He wants to win a Cup. So do we. That's what this is all about,'' 'Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said.

It keeps getting better for the Blackhawks and their no-longer-long-suffering fans. First they qualified for the postseason for the first time in seven years, then reached the conference finals for the first time in 13 years, and now they are kicking off their Ain't-Seen-Nothing-Yet Tour by signing a four-time All-Star to a 12-year, $62.8 million deal. In Hossa, the Blackhawks are getting a better all-around player than Martin Havlat, last year's leading scorer, who signed a six-year contract with the Minnesota Wild. They get a more experienced, more physical player without Havlat's injury history who is so desperate to win that he left money on the table to sign with Detroit. Big money.

Not only that, but in the plus-minus world of hockey, the Blackhawks just got a little better and their chief rival got a little worse. After the loss to the Penguins and the loss of Hossa, the Red Wings don't look as formidable as they did when they closed out the Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals at Joe Louis Arena. Doug Wilson's Sharks remain as confounding as ever, so the question now becomes: Are the 'Hawks the best in the West?

Check and double check

Hossa answered by signing his name. He did his homework first, that's for sure. To hear Tallon tell it, he checked everything short of owner Rocky Wirtz's cholesterol and coach Joel Quenneville's DNA before agreeing to a contract that he hopes will allow him to retire in Chicago.

''That's the kind of guy Marian is,'' Tallon said. ''He's a real conscientious guy. Two factors for him were he wanted to win and he wanted to learn how those guys do it — The [Nicklas] Lidstroms, the [Henrik] Zetterbergs, the leadership they bring. That's more important. For him, he wanted to learn how to be that guy. When he saw what happened here last year and the young team that we have, he thought it was a good fit for him.

''He was very impressed with our young players and where we were headed and the depth of our organization. This guy went through everything. He went through our lists. He went through our prospects and what we had coming and what we have. He's a very thorough guy. This decision didn't rest lightly on him.''

Likes hungry 'Hawks

Hossa was criticized for being a mercenary after signing with the Red Wings. His reasoning was simple. He wanted to win. He thought the Red Wings gave him his best chance, and understandably so. He was wrong, and he'll never live it down in Pittsburgh. He hopes he's right this time.

''Chicago is hungry,'' he said. ''They haven't won a Stanley Cup in a long, long time and they're showing improvement. Detroit is a great, great hockey town and has won a lot of Stanley Cups but this is a young, hungry team that wants to go for it.''

It was a busy day for the Blackhawks, a busy day for the NHL. The day the 'Hawks said hello to Hossa and fourth-line center Tomas Kopecky, they said goodbye to Havlat and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who signed a four-year deal with the Oilers, paving the way for one of last season's free-agent prizes, Cristobal Huet, to take over in net.

Whether the moves will result in next season ending similarly to the last time Hossa wore the Indian head remains to be seen.

The winter 'Hawks had the same Indian head logo as the Blackhawks, you see. Don't think that was lost on Hossa.

''Since then I haven't won a thing,'' he said. ''With a young team in Chicago, I'm hoping we can go real far and win it.''

Copyright 2009 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. All Rights Reserved
	Terms & Conditions     Privacy Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.