It’s official: Marian Hossa is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion, a crucial yet underrated member of all three Blackhawks’ title-winning teams, is one of six members of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s 2020 class.
Former Hawks defenseman Doug Wilson, now the Sharks’ general manager, also was among the inductees.
Hossa and Wilson became the 37th and 38th Hawks alumni, but just the fifth and sixth this century (Denis Savard in 2000, Ed Belfour and Doug Gilmour in 2011 and Chris Chelios in 2013), to be inducted.
The rest of the 2020 Hall of Fame class included fellow first-ballot selection Jarome Iginla, longtime Oilers defenseman Kevin Lowe and women’s hockey pioneer Kim St. Pierre, as well as current Oilers and former Red Wings GM Ken Holland in the “builders” subsection.
Hossa played 1,309 NHL games over 19 seasons, the final eight of which came with the Hawks, before retiring in 2017.
He tallied 525 goals and 609 assists, good for 1,134 career points — 57th in league history. He hit the 50-point plateau for 15 consecutive full seasons (exempting the abridged 2013 campaign), and reached the 100-point threshold with the Thrashers in 2006-07.
Hossa never won an individual award, but his stellar, consistent performance in every zone made him a stalwart on all three of the Hawks’ Cup-winning teams.
The 2010 title deservedly provided his first championship after losing with the Penguins to the Red Wings in the 2008 Final, then losing with the Red Wings to the Penguins in the 2009 Final. He’s the only player in NHL history to appear in three consecutive finals with three different teams.
“This day means so much to me. I’m humbled and really grateful,” Hossa said during a conference call with reporters. “I would’ve never thought I was going to have an amazing career. My dream came true when I won the first Stanley Cup. This is definitely something special.”
Despite his shock, Hossa long was considered a prime candidate for the 2020 Hall of Fame class.
Wilson, meanwhile, had a long wait for induction. He called it a “pleasant shock.”
The fan-favorite defenseman played 1,024 NHL games over 16 seasons, the first 14 of which came with the Hawks, between 1977 and 1993.
His 827 career points rank 15th all-time among defensemen.
Wilson was a three-time All-Star and won the 1982 Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman after a 39-goal, 85-point season. He made five conference final appearances with the Hawks, but never advanced to a Cup Final.
