Marian Hossa’s on-ice production, example will be tough to replace

For at least the last two seasons, Joel Quenneville has watched as the equipment designed to keep Marian Hossa safe and pain-free did just the opposite. “Constant pain and constant annoyance” is how Quenneville described Hossa’s skin disorder, which has forced him out of hockey for at least a season and probably for good.

It’s why Hossa got more days off than other players, because any day he didn’t have to put on his equipment was a good day. It’s why Hossa’s pregame routine took longer than other players. It’s why the athletic trainers and equipment staff tried everything they could think of to ease Hossa’s suffering.

“I’d like to give you a number on how many different things that he would try to do to alleviate what he was trying to deal with,” Quenneville said Thursday. “I’m sure the number was staggering because it was a constant thing.”

Much of the discussion in the wake of Hossa’s stunning decision has been on the ramifications on the Blackhawks’ salary-cap situation. But for Quenneville, who adored and respected Hossa like perhaps no other player, the on-ice impact is immense. After all, future Hall of Famers with 525 goals who play near-flawless defense don’t come around very often. Quenneville said that despite Hossa’s daily struggles with the condition, he was hoping it “wouldn’t come to this, where all of a sudden it’s real.”

“You lose a class person and a class player, as well,” Quenneville said. “You lose 17 minutes of playing the right way. He was one of those players that you really have an appreciation for as a coach. He does a lot of things that can help your team grow and play the right way. He did it for so long for us. We were very fortunate. Got a little spoiled with him over the years.”

Hossa was signed after the Hawks’ surprising run to the Western Conference final in 2009, the missing piece to a young, burgeoning championship squad. He lost in the Stanley Cup Final the previous two seasons with the Penguins and Red Wings, then joined the rising Hawks, mercenary-style. Hossa was rewarded immediately with a Stanley Cup on the third try, and he went on to win two more.

Quenneville and general manager Stan Bowman attributed much of that success to Hossa, the man who put the Hawks over the top.

“Marian is probably the biggest reason that the culture here changed,” Bowman said. “When he came here, we had a lot of young players. You think back to that 2009 season, Toews and Kane and Seabrook and Keith, they were all young guys sort of trying to learn their way in the NHL. Here we have Marian come in, and [he] hands every situation with the perfect amount of humility and class. He was a great role model. Off the ice, he helped establish a tradition and a culture here that’s going to live on for decades and decades.”

It’s worth noting that Bowman and Quenneville referred to Hossa in the past tense throughout the news conference. Bowman said that he had no idea if Hossa ever would play again, that it would be up to Hossa himself, but it seems highly unlikely at this point.

Bowman said Hossa’s on-ice impact will last, thanks to the way the Hawks’ younger players emulate him and his aggressive back-checking. But replacing him will be far more difficult than simply navigating the salary cap.

“I don’t think you replace Hoss because he’s a special player,” Quenneville said. “A player coming in has to be his own type of player. Everybody’s got a different style, so we don’t want to say we’re going to go look for a Marian Hossa. We were very fortunate the way we did acquire him and how he played when we did have him. It’s tough to say, but I don’t think you’re going to find him, unfortunately.”

Follow me on Twitter @MarkLazerus.

Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com

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