Hossa said earlier this month that he was still recovering slowly from the brutal hit to his head he endured from Coyotes forward Raffi Torres in the playoffs. Torres left the ice and struck Hossa directly in the head with his shoulder.

Hossa was carried off on a stretcher and hospitalized, a sequence of events he said he barely remembers. Torres, meanwhile, was suspended 25 games as his long history of dirty hits was a big factor in league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan's decision.

"I have talked to [Hossa], but not really recently. But I've gotten reports from our medical staff," Bowman said. "They contact him very regularly and he's doing much better. I think we're sitting here in May and projecting out to training camp in September. I can't predict it but I would be very encouraged that he would be ready to participate by then."

Hossa, 33, said it the was the first serious concussion he's suffered in his standout career. He was coming off a solid regular season. He had 29 goals and 77 points in 81 games, which were all highs for him in a Hawks uniform.

"He's going to get some rest here," Bowman said. "He had a good summer last year in terms of a longer summer and more time to prepare. The previous three or four years he was the victim of a short summer because of the long playoff runs he had (playing in three consecutive Cup finals).

"I think he'll be ready to go [by training camp]. He had a great season for us with that rest. We're hoping this summer will provide that too."