"The Blackhawks lost a lot of goals when Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd and John Madden were traded or let go during the offseason. That's 64 regular-season goals from last season off the books.

Marian Hossa, though, might make for up for two-thirds of that. Or more.

Hossa played only in 57 regular-season games last season, but his 24 goals were more than everyone but Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews. He's healthy now, and he has seven goals and 11 points in the Hawks' first seven games.

''The summer definitely helped; the shoulder is relaxed [and] the knee is relaxed,'' said Hossa, who had surgery on his right shoulder in the summer of 2009 and sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in the Stanley Cup finals. ''I had a lot of time off to heal those things and make them stronger.''

Former general manager Dale Tallon didn't bring Hossa in merely as a replacement for Martin Havlat. He brought him in because he thought Hossa could help the Hawks reach the next level, which they did.

''He's been a great player for 800 games,'' Sharp said. ''People forget he's been around a long time doing this, putting up 45 goals a year. It's no surprise to us.''

Forty-five goals is definitely a possibility if Hossa stays healthy. He has scored 30 goals or more seven times in his career and 40 or more three times."