Blackhawks: Bobby Hull, Denis Savard heap high praise on Marian Hossa

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It's no secret what kind of impact Marian Hossa has had on the Blackhawks, who knew exactly what they were getting when they signed him to a 12-year contract in 2009.

You won't see many individual accolades on his resume, but you will see that he's appeared in five of the last eight Stanley Cup Finals, and has reached the Conference Final in six of the last eight seasons. 

He's a winner everywhere he goes.

Sitting at 494 career goals, Hossa is approaching another impressive milestone, seeking to become the 44th player in NHL history to join the 500-goal club and adding to his illustrious career.

One member of that club is Bobby Hull, who ranks 16th on the all-time scoring list with 610 goals. And if he had the opportunity to play alongside the Slovakian winger, the Blackhawks legend and current ambassador believes the goals would have come much easier.

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"There is no one that plays this game of hockey that works any harder than Marian Hossa," Hull told CSN's Chris Boden during a recent Blackhawks game. "And sometimes I get a little upset with him: 'Don't work so hard on your defensive game then when you get a chance offensively, you're tired out and you can't put the puck in the net.' But he is a fabulous addition to this hockey club. He can play with anyone. He'll make a hockey player.

"You asked me earlier if I would have liked to play with him, I could have kicked 50 in with Marian without a stick.

"If I was coaching this team, I would say, 'Keep your eye on Marian Hossa and play that same way, that same dedicated, up and down way.' I played a different style. I would have loved to play with him because he would have done all the work and I'd have finished it all off."

He may not always get the recognition he deserves, but you don't have to convince anyone in Chicago that Hossa is one of the best two-way players in the game, a great example on and off the ice, and a three-time Stanley Cup champion with a legitimate chance to add another ring or two before his career is all said and done.

Like Hull, Denis Savard, who had 473 career goals in the NHL, was also known as one of the best goal-scorers of his era and believes Hossa could be near the top of that list if he really wanted to.

"The biggest thing for him — and there's a few things obviously, a lot of things that he's done great for this team and this organization — but he's really taught some of our kids to play both ends of the rink, offense and defense," Savard told CSN. "I've never seen a guy come back in his own end as hard as he (does). And I see when we watch our team play, you see some of our young guys do that all the time now. I think they're watching the, I don't want to call him the old man because I think he's going to play quite a few more years, but he's towards the end of his career and he still has a lot of success.

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"Part of it too because you look at his numbers offensively, they're great numbers, he's going to have 500 goals here coming up soon. But I think it's suffered his game offensively the way he's played defensively, the way he comes back so hard in his own end and spends so much energy on defense.

"His numbers could be 650 goals, but he'd be the one to tell you, 'But I've got three Cups.' He's a great example for our organization and young players what it takes to win Cups."

Hossa is 37 years of age, but he still plays like he's 27.

Coach Joel Quenneville said during training camp that he's "never seen him skate as well as he's skating right now."

Savard retired at the age of 37 after his 17th season. Hossa is right there, currently in his 17th season, but Savard doesn't see him slowing down anytime soon.

"I still see the Marian Hossa that we saw two, three, four, five years ago playing the same way and I don't think that's going to go away," Savard said. "For me, the biggest thing that went away ... my hands were starting to be not as good. So when your hands get a little slow, your feet have to slow down. That's when I knew I was pretty much in trouble. ... Once I lost my speed, my days were pretty much down hill from there. I don't see that in (Hossa) yet."

Check out the full interview in the video above.

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