TRAVERSE CITY -- If you can't beat 'em, sign with 'em -- for $7.4 million dollars.
Just don't think it's all about the money for All-Star right wing Marian Hossa, who jumped from the runner-up Pittsburgh Penguins to the champion Detroit Red Wings in the offseason.
It's about something much more than that for the 6-foot-1, 210-pound native of Slovakia. It's about the Stanley Cup, a trophy so sacred that most players who haven't won hockey's ultimate prize won't touch it until they've earned it.
"I see something special here, playing on an excellent team," said Hossa, who was acquired by Pittsburgh from Atlanta in a blockbuster deal at the 2008 trading deadline. "Another thing is a lot of people next year are at the end of their contract ... and maybe it could never happen again to play with players like that and learn something from them.
"That's another (reason) why I came here, to learn something and to try and win the Cup."
Still, the Red Wings management was surprised that Hossa, who averages nearly a point a game for his career, turned down more money for more seasons to sign a one-year contract for $7.4 million with the Red Wings.
"I was in the office with Stevie Yzerman and Jimmy Nill when we got the call," said General Manager Ken Holland. "We were pretty surprised, obviously. I don't think there are many players that would do what Marian did. He obviously felt very strongly. He wanted to come join our team. We're thrilled to have him.
"We've tried to create a culture where players want to come to us," Holland added. "Now, again, I can't tell you I expect a player to walk away from the money he (Hossa) walked away from, but we've had other situations where players have made decisions to come to us for less money. We're an Original Six team, it's a great hockey city, we have committed owners, committed fans, and obviously we have a nucleus built that players want to come play (here). It's not a fluke. You have to work at it. But we're fortunate Marian made that decision. Hopefully, we can take advantage of this one-year window and have a great year."
Even his new teammates were stunned. But they quickly add the move says a lot about the 29-year-old Hossa.
"He obviously walked away from some long-term contracts," center Kris Draper said. "One thing he said is he wants to win the Stanley Cup and he felt this was his best opportunity. When someone says that, you get excited about having him as a teammate.
"Not only that, he's a top forward in this league. He can score, he can skate. He's going to add a lot to our power play, and our top two lines. We're excited to have him here. He makes our team that much better and that much tougher to defend."
Another veteran Red Wing, forward Kirk Maltby, agreed.
"When you get a guy of his caliber, knocking on your door and wanting to play for you, you try to make room for him," Maltby said. "He makes us a better team and we're already a pretty good team. It's going to be nice having him on our team and not playing against him because I remember when he was still in Atlanta last year and he had a hat trick against us and they beat us pretty handily. He's a great player."
Hossa scored 10 points in 12 regular-season games with the Penguins after he came over from the Thrashers along with wing Pascal Dupuis for three players and a 2008 first-round draft pick.
During the postseason, Hossa increased his production with 12 goals and 14 assists in 20 games. In the Stanley Cup finals, Hossa was involved in seven (three goals, four assists) of the Penguins' 10 goals in losing four games to two to the Red Wings.
"I know he's a hard worker and a good two-way player," said Red Wings defenseman and captain Nicklas Lidstrom. "That's what I noticed the most, the way he back-checked when we played him and the way he works.
"We know from playing against him what he can do, and what his work ethic is all about. I just talked to (assistant coach) Brad McCrimmon, who had him in Atlanta, and he said the same thing. He's a hard worker."
"He's very strong down low, quick," said Draper, whose line was often matched against Hossa's in the Stanley Cup series. "He gets his shot away very fast. He's a threat anywhere in the offensive zone.
"He's the type of player that when you're out on the ice, you want to know where he's at."
Detroit coach Mike Babcock said he envisions Hossa playing on a line centered by Pavel Datsyuk with the Red Wings. Tomas Holmstrom will man the left wing.
"We're going to start Hossa on a line with Datsyuk and Holmstrom," Babcock said. "But where he ends up, I have no idea. I'm just going to watch. We're fortunate that we have until (the season opener) Oct. 9 to get ready. We're just going to go through the process and see what's best for the team."
Hossa said he's looking forward to playing on what promises to be one of the top lines for the Red Wings.
Datsyuk is coming off a 97-point campaign where he had 66 assists. Datsyuk also won the Frank Selke Trophy for the NHL's best defensive forward and the Lady Byng for 'gentlemanly play.'
"He's a special player," Hossa said of Datsyuk. "He can do it all basically. He's a good all-around player and he sees the ice well. I just have to make sure my stick is on the ice and he's going to hit it no matter what."
Then there's Holmstrom, who makes his living in the crease. Holmstrom had 20 goals and 20 assists in 59 regular-season contests in 2007-08 and had four goals and eight assists in 21 postseason matches.
"Tomas is definitely an interesting player," Hossa said. "We know his role, he's going hard to the net. He's one of the best guys in front of the net. We know we always have someone to drive to the net which creates more room for us. That's a big element."
Lidstrom said he's anxious to see the three of them together as a unit.
"It will be fun to see what he can do, especially with Pav," he said. "We know Homer's going to get the puck in the corners for them, but (it will be interesting) to see what those two can do together."
Another Red Wing looking forward to playing with Hossa is fellow Slovakian Tomas Kopecky.
"He's a great addition," Kopecky said. "He's a really good hockey player and a really good friend of mine. It's going to be interesting and it should be a fun season. I've never played with a Solvakian guy, especially with a guy like him who's so close to me. We probably live five minutes from each other in Slovakia. We see each other every day."
So when it came time for Hossa to explore the Detroit area, he had a ready-made tour guide.
"I stayed with Tomas, especially in the beginning," Hossa said. "He was helping me look for some places and driving me around. He was a great help."
"He was here a week and I was basically babysitting him," Kopecky joked. "It was fun. It was a blast. My wife and kids stayed home, they're coming after we get home from training camp, so I was basically his bigger brother, even though he's older."
Hossa also got to know several of the Red Wings and their Swedish contingent during the lockout in 2004-05. Hossa spent part of his time playing in the Swedish Elite League and was on the same team as current Detroit players Daniel Cleary and Andres Lilja.
"I don't think that's going to be a problem at all," Lidstrom said. "Already he's got a lot of buddies on the team."
Hossa now has his own place to live while playing for his new team. Of course, with his one-year contract, he didn't buy a place.
Not yet, anyway.
"Rent so far," Hossa said. "We'll see what's going to happen in the future."
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