What's behind Blackhawks veteran Hossa's resurgance?
There I sat, sipping my morning coffee three weeks ago, when one of those "one year ago" Facebook posts appeared in front of me.
It was my story on the Blackhawks' 4-3 victory at Edmonton on Nov. 18, 2015, a game the Hawks won thanks to Marian Hossa's goal in overtime.
It was just his second score in 16 games.
Hossa said to reporters in the postgame locker room: "It's not like at my age I'm going to win (the) scoring title or I'm going to score 20 or 30 goals."
Reading that 365 days later - when he was already sitting on 10 goals - almost made me fall off my chair. Now the ageless veteran is up to 14 tallies, 2 of which came in the Hawks' 4-0 win over Arizona on Tuesday.
Apparently, he was right about not scoring 20 or 30 goals … maybe it'll be 40.
When I told Hossa about his quote from a year ago, he cracked us all up when he responded: "Are you sure I said that?"
He couldn't believe it. Just like many Hawks fans probably can't believe what the 37-year-old is accomplishing after a campaign in which he scored just 13 times and converted on just 6.8 percent of his shots.
Now, after 28 games, Hossa:
• Is fifth in the NHL with his 14 goals, 3 behind leader Sidney Crosby.
• Ranks eighth with a shooting percentage of 21.9.
• Is 37th in the league with 20 points.
As Hossa has noted, part of the reason behind his resurgence stems from the long off-season. But there may be something more to it than that.
Hossa, you see, is once again using a stick with more curve to it. He said it allows him to field passes more cleanly and it's giving him more lift on shots.
"When I see the opportunity, I try to hit the corner." Hossa said. "Sometimes when you play with more confidence, you aim a little better than maybe certain times when things aren't going your way."
OK, so the curved blade may be another reason for Hossa playing like he's 25 again.
Want another theory? Maybe, as one reporter inquired with goalie Scott Darling, Marian Hossa is actually a cyborg.
"I'd believe it. I wouldn't put it past him. He's incredible," Darling said. "I still can't believe how fast he is. He just has that next gear. He's one of the fastest players I've ever been on the ice with.
"He's an impressive human being."
Hossa, by the way, did respond after doubting his own words from a year ago when I repeated them back to him Tuesday night. He said that last year, he meant he probably wasn't going to hit those numbers because he was always on the top power play and was also playing on teams that didn't have as many superstars as the Hawks have now.
"Also it's not just my goal to be on the board offensively," Hossa said. "Definitely it feels good again to score goals, but that's not only what I'm looking for."
Hossa's second goal Tuesday gave him 513 for his career, tying Jeremy Roenick for 38th on the all-time list. The humble, easygoing Hossa said he doesn't check the career leaders often, "but definitely when your name is by a really good name, that definitely means something."
Just as Hossa has meant a whole lot to the Hawks - not only this year - but since he donned the Indian Head sweater in 2009.
"He's a great pro, he's in tremendous shape, prepares himself game in, game out," said coach Joel Quenneville. "We'll call him a great mentor, great student of the game for young guys to watch."
Movin' on up
Marian Hossa will move past Jeremy Roenick on the all-time goals list with his next score, and he's also just 12 goals from jumping up four more spots:
1. Wayne Gretzky 894
2. Gordie Howe 801
3. Jaromir Jagr 751
4. Brett Hull 741
5. Marcel Dionne 731
6. Phil Esposito 717
7. Mike Gartner 708
8. Mark Messier 694
9. Steve Yzerman 692
10. Mario Lemieux 690
----------------------------------
17. Bobby Hull 610
----------------------------------
30. Stan Mikita 541
31. Keith Tkachuk 538
32. Alexander Ovechkin 537
33. Frank Mahovlich 533
34. Bryan Trottier 524
35. Pat Verbeek 522
36. Dale Hawerchuk 518
37. Pierre Turgeon 515
38. Marian Hossa 513
38. Jeremy Roenick 513
40 Gilbert Perreault 512