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Wednesday, July 1, 2009 12:25 PM

Will Oilers go after Hossa again?

Eric Duhatschek

A couple of early thoughts as the free-agent frenzy is under way: If indeed the Detroit Red Wings’ last-ditch efforts to sign Marian Hossa to a long-term contract did fail, you’d have to think that the Edmonton Oilers will be pushing hard to convince him to join them again.

Edmonton made the most lucrative offer last year – willing to give up money and term to get him – and there’d a certain symmetry to landing Hossa rather than Dany Heatley as the big fish that they’re seeking to upgrade their top line. After all, Hossa was swapped for Heatley back in August of 2005, when he demanded a trade out of Atlanta.

Hossa is probably the more well-rounded of the two, and the advantage of signing him is you don’t have to give up anything in return. In the proposed deal with Ottawa for Heatley, the Oilers would have given up a player that they would like to ship away (Dustin Penner), but they would have also had to surrender a player that they had hoped to stick around (Andrew Cogliano).

As for Toronto, last week an NHL GM told me that he figured his Leafs’ counterpart, Brian Burke, would have both Chris Neil and Travis Moen locked up within the first 24 hours of free agency – and that they would be two-thirds of Toronto's third line next year. Let’s see if he turns out to be right.

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Globe On Hockey Contributors

David Shoalts

David Shoalts, a native of Wainfleet, Ont., joined The Globe in 1984 as a layout and copy editor in the sports section. He attended the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College. After graduating from Conestoga with a journalism diploma in 1978, Shoalts worked at the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun, and later the Toronto Sun.

In 1986, Shoalts went back to the writing side of the business. He was the CFL reporter for The Globe for four years and then switched to hockey. He has covered the Toronto Maple Leafs and the NHL ever since and became a hockey columnist in 2003. Among the most memorable events Shoalts has covered are the final hockey game at the old Chicago Stadium (between the Maple Leafs and Blackhawks) and the men's and women's gold-medal hockey games at the 2002 Winter Olympics. He is also the author of a book of humour, Tales From The Toronto Maple Leafs, and co-author with retired Globe columnist William Houston of Greed and Glory, The Fall of Hockey Czar Alan Eagleson.

 
Allan Maki

Allan Maki

Allan Maki joined the Globe in 1997, after spending 19 years as a reporter and columnist at the Calgary Herald. Born in Thunder Bay, Ont., Maki graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 1977.

A past president of the Football Writers of Canada, Maki has covered every Grey Cup since 1980. He's been to seven Olympic Games and covered everything from rodeos to the World Series to the Super Bowl.

A regular commentator on radio and television, Maki hosted a sports program for two years on CBC Newsworld. He has won several awards for his writing and was nominated for a National Newspaper Award in 1995.

 
Eric Duhatschek

Eric Duhatschek

Eric Duhatschek was the winner of the Hockey Hall Of Fame's Elmer Ferguson award for "distinguished contributions to hockey writing" in 2001. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario's grad school of journalism, he began covering hockey in 1978 and after spending 20 years covering the NHL and the Calgary Flames, joined globeandmail.com in September, 2000, where he writes a five-time-a-week NHL column.

A frequent contributor to Hockey Night in Canada's Satellite Hot Stove segment, he has covered four Winter Olympics, 19 Stanley Cup finals, every Canada Cup and World Cup since 1981, plus two world championships. Most recently, he was appointed as the newest member of the Hockey Hall Of Fame's annual Selection Committee.