Kevin Lowe, Stay Clear, Please.

News today, news that's probably worth taking to the bank, since it comes from Dan Barnes and to date Eklund hasn't picked it up. To quote Barnes:

A well-placed source said it would take a "minor miracle" for Hossa to be anything more than another one that got away, but the Oilers are baiting the hook this time with at least US$9-million per year for a slick scorer who would solidify the top line with Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff.

This signing would be disastrous. I did a brief look at Hossa here, without going into much detail beyond the past two seasons, because I really didn't consider him a serious option for Kevin Lowe.

He scored 66 points last season. More goals were scored against his line than for it at a rate of 0.67/hour. Both his powerplay point production and the powerplay's performance with him on it were pedestrian (and in the case of the powerplay's performance, that's being charitable).

He is not worth 9 million dollars per season over any term greater than 2 years. While a good, even excellent player, he is not at an elite level. His best year statistically came in 2006-07, when he hit the 100 point mark for the first time. Since his break-through 2000-01 season, he's eclipsed the point-per-game mark 4 out of 7 times.

I really like Hossa as a player. He plays power-vs-power, and generally comes out ahead. He's a reliable 35-goal, 45-assist guy, a still-young first line RW who will help whatever team he's with.

But he isn't worth 9 million dollars long term. That money, particularly in combination with a load of other big contracts (Souray & Visnovsky in particular) will mean the end of the line for Shawn Horcoff, and that's just the beginning. If he continues to produce like he did this past season, he could look like Brad Richards in very short order.