Marian Hossa is opening up about the skin condition that forced him to retire last May.

The former star forward recently went into detail about the physical challenges he endured in the final years of his career in an interview with The Athletic's Scott Powers in his native Slovakia.

"I wasn't really thinking about the end, it just (came) basically, the eczema kind of told me," Hossa told Powers. "My body told me there was no other way. That's when I had to start thinking, 'Well, it could be.' Because my skin (was) almost like breaking. (It was) leaking from the wounds. (I was) missing practices."

Hossa said he was diagnosed with eczema six years ago, triggered by the combination of his sweat and hockey equipment. It was initially manageable but intensified over time, as red blotches began forming on his body.

Eventually, his condition affected more than just hockey.

"That's the one thing, I was still in great shape, I felt good. But I came home, I was afraid to touch my kids because (my) skin was not in a good shape," Hossa explained. "I said 'I'm not supposed to be like this. I'm not supposed to eat pills to play hockey.' Those pills are not easy pills. Those are hard pills. Every second week I have to go to (the) hospital to check my blood. If those pills don't affect me, something else (does).

"I said at what point should I be doing this to keep going? I have a life. I have a young family. I don't want to risk it with another year with the pills on me. So I just came to the thing where I had to make a big decision and I have to be like, 'Body says you have to stop.'"

Hossa said he felt uncomfortable removing his gear in the dressing room after games and that his condition prevented him from going to dinner with his Team Europe teammates before the final at the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.

The 40-year-old won the Stanley Cup three times with the Chicago Blackhawks and played for five teams in his 19-season career, racking up 525 goals and 1,134 points in 1,309 games.

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The Winnipeg Jets appear to be turning to the Ottawa Senators for a Stanley Cup push.

The Jets are interested in Senators forwards Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, and Ryan Dzingel, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

Winnipeg will turn to Dzingel as a contingency plan if it fails to acquire Duchene or Stone, Garrioch added.

The trio are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. The Senators reportedly plan to trade Duchene but have re-engaged in extension talks with Stone.

The Jets have the cap space to afford Stone ($7.35M cap hit) or Duchene ($6M) for the remainder of the season but likely wouldn't have the room to sign either to an extension, as Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, and Jacob Trouba are all set to become restricted free agents at season's end.

Duchene would provide a similar ripple down the lineup that Paul Stastny did a year ago, likely pushing Bryan Little to the third line and Adam Lowry to the fourth, creating exceptional depth down the middle. The dynamic center is in the midst of a career year, racking up 27 goals and 56 points in 49 games.

Stone, a Winnipeg native, is one of the best two-way players in the league. He has 27 goals and 59 points in 58 games but also leads the NHL with 86 takeaways.

Dzingel often gets overlooked compared to Duchene and Stone, but with 22 goals and 43 points in 56 games, he's no slouch offensively.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Jordan Binnington made 31 saves and the St. Louis Blues posted their third straight shutout, beating the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Sunday for their 10th straight win.

Binnington made 21 saves to blank Arizona on Thursday, and Jake Allen stopped 32 shots in a 3-0 win against Colorado on Saturday. St. Louis hasn't allowed a goal in 187:16, since late in an 8-3 win over New Jersey on Tuesday.

Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists and Ryan O'Reilly, Vince Dunn and Brayden Schenn also scored to help St. Louis match the best winning streak in franchise history, completed in January 2002. The run also ties the Blues for the longest streak in the NHL this season. The Blues have won eight straight on the road, their best such run since taking 10 straight in 2000.

Alex Stalock stopped 26 shots for Minnesota in his first action since Feb. 2.

Binnington improved to 12-1-1 since making his first NHL start on Jan. 7 with four shutouts on the road.

A wide-open Tarasenko scored the first goal 5:08 into the first period. The power-play tally extended Tarasenko's career-high points streak to 12 games. He has 11 goals and 11 assists during the streak.

Tarasenko also had an assist on O'Reilly's goal later in the first that made it 2-0. The assist was Tarasenko's 400th point. He later picked up the assist on Schenn's second-period goal that put St. Louis up 4-0. Schenn fired the puck off Wild defenseman Nick Seeler, who slid into the net and took the puck with him.

St. Louis' power play was 3 for 30 in its previous 13 games heading into Sunday but converted twice in the first period. The Blues finished 2 for 6 with the man advantage.

Minnesota was 0 for 5 on the power play. The Wild are 1-5-3 in their last nine games.

Dunn scored his eighth goal of the year to give the Blues a 3-0 lead in the second. Dunn's one-timer on a 3-on-1 rush came just after St. Louis successfully killed off a penalty.

NOTES: Wild C Matt Hendricks (upper body) and C Victor Rask (lower body) both missed their second straight games with injuries. ... St. Louis has a plus-26 goal differential during its 10-game win streak. ... Tarasenko scored his 204th career goal, which ties him with Pavol Demitra for seventh in Blues history.

UP NEXT

Blues: Host Toronto on Tuesday night.

Wild: Host Anaheim on Tuesday night.

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Barring any last-minute changes, the Ottawa Senators will trade center Matt Duchene before the Feb. 25 deadline, TSN's Darren Dreger reported on Sunday.

Mark Stone's future in Ottawa should also be determined early this week, well in advance of the trade deadline, Dreger added.

It was reported Saturday that the Senators made Duchene available, and recent developments suggest the 28-year-old's departure from Ottawa is imminent.

There will likely be several teams lining up to offer the Senators a package for Duchene. TSN's Pierre LeBrun believes that "Columbus and Nashville are among the many teams which have checked in with the Senators on him," though nothing has been confirmed.

The speedy sniper has registered 27 goals and 56 points this season, and he's second in team scoring behind Stone.

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Former New York Islanders forward Rob Schremp apparently isn't a fan of John Tavares.

Schremp responded to a tweet on Saturday that compared the Islanders' record last season on Feb. 15 to their current standing in the league. The former 25th overall pick called Tavares an "I did my job" superstar and said the Toronto Maple Leafs forward cares more about his own personal accolades than the team's success.

The Islanders have improved significantly on defense this year, as they've allowed 82 fewer goals than they did at this point last season.

Tavares, meanwhile, is on pace to post career highs in both goals and points with the Maple Leafs. The 28-year-old recently said he still has no regrets about his decision to leave the Islanders in free agency last summer.

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