There are a lot of nice things about winning the Stanley Cup.
You get to put your name on the greatest trophy in the world, you get a swell parade and you get to bask in the glory of being a champion.
Another less obvious benefit is that players want to be part of your team.
That seems to be what happened Wednesday when the Red Wings signed high-scoring winger Marian Hossa (for more details go to http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HKN_RED_WINGS_HOSSA?SITE=MIMON&SECTION=SPORTS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-07-02-15-54-00)
Hossa had offers for more money elsewhere, but wanted a shot at the Stanley Cup.
This is another brilliant move by Detroit general manager Kenny Holland. He swooped in to grab one of the plums of the free-agent crop when no one expected the Wings to be interested.
And the real beauty of this deal is that it is for one year. It will not interfere with the Wings signing some of its own players after next season.
If Hossa is a bust, they can just let him walk away. If he helps them win a Stanley Cup, they can worry about finding the money to re-sign him later.
Niles –
I like the one year contracts for the reason you mention – it allows us to still have room for our own players under the salary cap and when you get a good deal – woo hoo. Lets see how he does then figure it out at the end of the season. I am excited now for hockey to start.
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I trust Ken Holland, but I’m curious if he’s going to fit. If he does the Wings are going to possibly have a record breaking season.