Chris Chelios call its quits
National Hockey League defenceman Chris Chelios finally called it quits on Tuesday after a miraculous 26 seasons. The 48-year-old Chelios is second to only Gordie Howe as the oldest player to skate in an NHL game.
Chelios was drafted 40th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 1981 NHL entry draft. Chelios would spend seven years in Montreal making a name for himself as a hard-nosed defender who was still able to accumulate points, scoring 73 in 80 games during the 1988-89 season. In 1990-91 the Chicago native was traded back home to play for the Blackhawks. Chelios spent nine years with the Blackhawks serving as the team’s number one defenseman. His best year with the franchise came in the 1995-96 season when he tallied 72 points in 81 games. He was traded the to the Detroit Red Wings during the 1998-99 season and would spend nine campaigns with the squad. As Chelios aged it became more and more difficult for the club to find a place for him in the line-up and they were eventually forced to let him go after the 2008-09 season. Last year Chelios played in seven games for the Atlanta Thrashers.
Chelios ranks fourth all time in NHL games played and has appeared in the most post-season games in League history. The Illinois native is a four time Olympian playing for the United States men’s Hockey Team in the 1984, 1988, 2002, and 2006 Olympics, captaining two of those squads.
Chelios ranks second all time among defenceman with 2,891 penalty minutes and had this to say to fans of opposing teams. “I hope you’ll forgive me for the things I did to some of the players on your teams.”
Chelios participated in 1,652 NHL games scoring 185 goals and 763 assists for 948 points while going an astonishing plus-350.
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