Ex-Penguins Marian Hossa, Jarome Iginla selected for Hockey Hall of Fame

Marian Hossa had two hockey idols growing up in the Slovakian portion of Czechoslovakia in the 1980s and early 1990s.

He got to play for one of them.

“One of my favorite two players was Mario Lemieux,” Hossa said. “And Wayne Gretzky.”

Hossa and fellow ex-Penguins forward Jarome Iginla will join Lemieux, now the team’s owner, in the Hockey Hall of Fame. They were selected for induction on Wednesday.

“I never thought I was going to have an amazing career,” Hossa said in a conference call with media. “This is something definitely special. It means so much to me. I’m humbled.”

Their class will include long-time NHL general manager Ken Holland, former NHL defensemen Kevin Lowe and Doug Wilson as well as Kim St.-Pierre, a former star goaltender for the Canadian women’s national team.

Hossa and Iginla were each members of the Penguins for brief stretches. Both were acquired at trade deadlines as “rental” players and were gone by the ensuing offseason.

But they each had memorable tenures as a member of the Penguins, particularly since each was intended to be a complementary winger to franchise center Sidney Crosby.

Hossa arrived in Pittsburgh in a blockbuster deal with the Atlanta Thrashers at the 2008 deadline But an injury limited him to 12 regular-season games and 10 points (three goals, seven assists). In the postseason, he appeared in 20 games and erupted for 26 points, including a team-leading 12 goals, one of which was a series-clinching overtime goal against the New York Rangers in a 3-2 home win in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.

After helping the Penguins advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings, Hossa went from hero to public enemy in Pittsburgh after he spurned general manager Ray Shero’s long-term contract offer and joined the Red Wings on a one-year deal. At the time, Hossa said he felt joining the Red Wings gave him the best opportunity to win the Stanley Cup.

In 2009, the Penguins defeated the Red Wings and Hossa for the franchise’s third Stanley Cup title.

“When I got the call that I was traded from the Thrashers to the Pittsburgh Penguins, my eyes opened,” Hossa said. “I saw the opportunity to play in a great organization and with great players like Sid who we became close in the short time I was there. And guys like Malkin and (defenseman Kris) Letang and (goaltender Marc-Andre) Fleury. An amazing run. We ended up a little bit short. Obviously, the rest is history and the guys did great afterward.

“A great organization, great fans. A top-notch organization overall. Good memories.”

A first-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators during the 1997 draft staged at the Civic Arena, Hossa’s greatest success came as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. He was a member of that franchise’s Stanley Cup championship teams in 2010, ‘13 and ‘15.

A painful skin disorder forced Hossa to quit hockey in 2017. While he has not played for more than three seasons, he never officially retired because of the NHL’s salary cap rules on players retiring before their contracts expire require teams to incur a penalty. In 2018, his contract, which does not expire until 2021, was traded to the Arizona Coyotes.

In 19 seasons, Hossa appeared in 1,309 regular season games and had 1,134 career points (525 goals, 609 assists).

Iginla came to the Penguins with similar intentions which were rooted in his success as Crosby’s linemate for Canada in the 2010 Olympics. But those hopes were never realized.

Acquired from the Calgary Flames in another blockbuster trade — which Iginla had contract control over — at the 2013 deadline, Iginla’s first game with the Penguins saw Crosby suffer a broken jaw. As a result, Iginla was used primarily on a line — and occasionally as a left winger — with the Penguins’ other franchise center, Evgeni Malkin.

In 13 regular season games with the Penguins, Iginla collected 11 points (five goals, six assists).

During the 2013 postseason, Iginla was used briefly for a handful of games on Crosby’s line during the first round against the New York Islanders and the second round vs. the Ottawa Senators.

By the time the Penguins were swept in the Eastern Conference final by the Boston Bruins, Iginla found himself on the third line with the likes of Beau Bennett and Brandon Sutter.

As unappetizing as his tenure with the Penguins was, Iginla professed enjoyment.

“A great experience,” Iginla said. “The fans are very, very passionate about their hockey there. … Unfortunately, we lost to Boston in the conference final. But getting the chances to play with Crosby and Malkin and Letang and Fleury and (defenseman Brooks) Orpik, they had a great, great leadership group. Very talented. A very humble group of guys that work very, very hard. You can see why they’ve been a dominant team and went on to win. I sure wish we would have won. It was tough (losing to Boston) but it was still an amazing experience.

“I never had in my career a chance to play with guys like Crosby and Malkin (before leaving Calgary). To see their habits up close, you see how hard they work. Growing up sometimes, you think that it’s all talent and people are born this way. But in my career, what really stood out is getting around a few guys like (Crosby and Malkin) and seeing how dedicated they are. Yes, they’re talented but also how much work they put into each part of their game.”

In addition to the Flames and Penguins, Iginla also played for the Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings before retiring in 2017.

Spending 20 seasons in NHL, Iginla, who was a first-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 1995, appeared in 1,554 games and scored 1,300 points (625 goals, 675 assists).

A native of Edmonton, Iginla will become the fourth Black player in the Hall, joining Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Grant Fuhr, women’s pioneer Angela James and forward Willie O’Ree, the first Black player in NHL history.

“Growing up, I just played hockey, loved playing it,” Iginla said. “I didn’t view myself in minor hockey as a Black hockey player but I was also aware that I was. … I wanted to be like Mark Messier and I loved Wayne Gretzky. But it was also special to see the Black players that were in the NHL. To see Grant Fuhr staring, to be able to say to other people, ‘Oh look at Grant Fuhr, he’s an All-Star.’ … It was very, very fortunate for me to follow my dream.”

Hossa and Iginla are the 18th and 19th one-time members of the Penguins to receive this honor. They join:

Forwards – Andy Bathgate, Ron Francis, Mario Lemieux, Joe Mullen, Mark Recchi, Luc Robitaille, Bryan Trottier

Defensemen – Leo Boivin, Tim Horton, Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy, Sergei Zubov

Executives – Scotty Bowman, Herb Brooks, Bob Johnson, Craig Patrick, Jim Rutherford

The induction ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 16 in Toronto.