The long exile is nearly over for Marian Hossa and he can't wait to finally put on a Chicago Blackhawks jersey and slip into a lineup that is young, skilled, quick and about to get a whole lot better.

Former Red Wing Marian Hossa

Photograph by : Gregory Shamus

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"Just skating by myself is getting old," said Hossa after a long practice session at Rexall Place on Saturday. "This is the first time I've missed training camp and the beginning of the season and it's definitely not fun. You have your own schedule, you're working with the conditioning coach trying to get in shape...but it's almost over. I can't wait."

Three weeks after Hossa signed a 12-year,$62.8-million US free-agent contract, he underwent shoulder surgery, putting his debut off until Wednesday in San Jose. Even without his goal-scoring prowess in the lineup, the Blackhawks rolled into Edmonton with a five-game win streak and a record of 13-5-2.

"He's going to add so much to our lineup," Patrick Kane said. "He's a 40-goal scorer and, who knows, when he comes back, he might even score 40 again with the skill I've seen at practice. It seems like he scores on every shot."

Since 2007-08, the 12-year veteran has played for the Atlanta Thrashers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Detroit Red Wings, which resulted in trips to the Stanley Cup finals with Pittsburgh in 2008 and Detroit in 2009, and he will surely get another shot at redemption this spring.

"I've been on a quite a few(championship-calibre) teams and this one is right there. The advantage with this team is that they are all young guys, and they're just getting better and stronger," Hossa said.

"This is one of the youngest group of guys I have played with. When I was in Detroit, they were maybe a little more mature, but it has been a lot of fun in this dressing room.

"These guys are fast, and young and they have lots of enthusiasm."

In one practice this past week, Hossa skated with Kane and Jonathan Toews and it is expected that it's where he'll be against the Sharks.

"It's crazy to think what could happen," Kane said. "We feel we have a good shot to go all the way this year, no matter how young we are. We have the experience from last year and then you add a guy like that who's been to the finals before .... yeah, we're looking forward to getting hm back."

SHORT SHIFT: The Blackhawks waived Andrew Ebbett, who was claimed by the Minnesota Wild.

reland@thejournal.canwest.com