

His parents Frantisek and Maria, and brother, Marcel were also in attendance. Hossa was joined at the ceremony by his wife Jana, daughters Mia, 11, Zoja, 9, and Emma, who was born Aug. "It was the first ever Blackhawks jersey I wore, and I remember it vividly today." I did not hesitate: a red Chicago Blackhawks jersey, No.

One of the families wanted to buy me a gift, a jersey of my choice. "When I was 11 years old, my Slovak hockey team came to Quebec City to play in a pee-wee tournament. "I miss you guys," said Hossa, who talked of the first NHL jersey he ever received. 81 in Blackhawks history, was given a standing ovation as he came onto the ice. "As the great Pat Foley used to say, who's the boss? Hoss is the boss,'" Olczyk said to cheers. 35).Former Blackhawks color analyst Eddie Olczyk, who now does the same job for the Seattle Kraken, emceed the 45-minute ceremony upon Hossa's request. 81, and he will also be the last. He is set to become the eighth player in franchise history to have his number retired, joining Glenn Hall (No.

Hossa is the first player in franchise history to wear the No. (A fun secondary storyline: Malking could also be playing in his 1,000th career NHL game that night). 81 will be raised to the United Center rafters and hang there forever.Ī fitting opponent, given Hossa had a brief stint with the Eastern Conference champion Penguins in 2007-08, which means former teammates like Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin will be in attendance for the ceremony. the Pittsburgh Penguins is when Hossa's No. On Wednesday, the team officially finalized a date.Ĭircle your calendars, Chicago: Sunday, Nov. The Blackhawks announced in April that Marian Hossa's number will be retired at some point during the 2022-23 season.
