Chicago Blackhawks' Hossa on doorstep of No. 500

Before Marian Hossa played his first game for the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 1, 1997, he had some pretty modest goals, including …

• Playing in the NHL.

• "Be good in it."

• "Lift the Stanley Cup at least once."

Check. Check.

Triple-check.

As for becoming a career 500-goal scorer?

"I never thought about this number," Hossa said.

Well, Hossa, who has played 1,232 games, is just 2 goals from a magical number achieved by only 43 players. Players such as Wayne Gretzky (894), Gordie Howe (801), Jarmoir Jagr (745), Mario Lemieux (690), Bobby Hull (610), Stan Mikita (541) and Jeremy Roenick (513), just to name a few.

"For Hoss to creep up on that number, he's getting a lot of attention for it," said Patrick Sharp, who played with Hossa for six seasons. "But that's really not all that he brings to a team or an organization.

"He's a great hockey player in all areas, he's a great teammate, a great friend. It's great to see him acknowledged, but we all know he brings a lot more than just goal-scoring."

For sure, Hossa always has been known as one of the best two-way players in the league. Tough on the backcheck. Impossible to move off the puck. Nearly impossible to knock down.

"What stands out mostly for him is not that he (has nearly) reached 500 goals, but the way he did it," said Dallas defenseman and former Hawk Johnny Oduya. "He plays a complete hockey game.

"He's one of those guys that as a D-man you want to be on the ice with. Very responsible, never cheats, never takes anything for granted.

"He could have scored more goals if he had (just a scoring) mindset. … He wants to win and he does what's needed for him to be a perfect fit for a team."

That goes for Hossa's off-the-ice demeanor, too, as he might be the NHL's best example of what it means to be a true pro.

He has had eight 30-goal seasons and three times had 40 or more, with his career high being 45 in 2002-03 with the Senators. He scored 188 goals for Ottawa, 108 for Atlanta, 40 for Detroit, 3 for Pittsburgh and 159 and counting for the Hawks,

This year, plenty of fans and pundits have bemoaned the fact that the 37-year-old Hossa has managed just 12 goals and has scored on just 6.7 percent of his shots, a career low.

Has he lost a step? Or two? Or more? Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman certainly doesn't think so.

"Marian looks as fast now as he did five years ago," Bowman told WSCR 670-AM. "I mean he's not slowing down at all."

Said Andrew Shaw: "I know when I'm 37, I won't be playing like that, that's for sure. He's outstanding. He's in great shape. He's great in both ends of the ice; he can still fly out there.

"He's an unbelievable player."

As for the falling stats?

"If you're measuring it only by goals or points, then you're probably looking at it the wrong way because Marian does a lot of things that don't show up on the scoresheet," Bowman continued. "He plays against the best players every night and part of their job is to shut them down and make sure that … if we're playing against a top player that they don't score goals.

"He's got a tougher assignment there than a lot of our other players."

Hossa's contract, which carries a $5.275 million cap hit, runs through the 2020-21 season. His base salary in the final four years of the deal is only $1 million.

"Definitely I would love to go through my whole contract for what I signed," Hossa said. "On the other hand, you cannot know what can happen with injuries when you become older. When you're not at the level where you want to be, it's like you have to force things."

If Hossa were to retire before his contract was up, the Hawks would be subject to the Cap Recapture Penalty to the tune of $4.3 million for every year Hossa didn't play, according to reddit.com.

Now, if Hossa does play until he's 42 and averages just more than 15 goals a season, he will end up in 21st place all time, just ahead of Mark Recchi.

But for now it's all about getting to the magical 500.

"He's an amazing player, amazing teammate, and it's going to be a fun milestone to see him achieve 500 goals in the NHL," Patrick Kane said. "For him to achieve that, he's had to have a lot of great years, a lot of consistency over his career.

"He's scored some big goals for us, as well. That'll be a cool moment when it finally happens."

• Follow John on Twitter @johndietzdh