For a newspaper that has basically ignored hockey in Chicago for many years, your writers seemed to have quite a bit to say regarding the Chris Chelios trade. Per their usual smart-aleck ways, they proved to know very little about the sport, and Chelios.
Over the past two years, Chelios’ performance has declined sharply and rapidly, and at age 37, asking for a third renegotiation of his contract succeeded in showing himself the door.
Steve Rosenbloom’s typical know-nothing remark about Anders Eriksson, the player acquired from Detroit for Chelios, proves my point. Eriksson, 24, has great size (6-foot 3-inches, 218 pounds) and can move the puck quickly while remembering his defensive chores.
To compare the trades of Eddie Belfour and Jeremy Roenick to that of Chelios points out your writers’ lack of knowledge. To make a hero out of Chelios, one of Bill Wirtzless’ biggest backers, is hypocritical of Rosenbloom, who has made too good a living off lambasting Wirtzless.
Tell Bernie Lincicome to watch a little more hockey too. Then he would know the Hawks got a future star when they traded for Boris Mironov.
The Hawks’ trade of Chelios, in my mind, was a step toward improving the club. Now we must wait to see how one of the richest, most powerful and self-absorbed men in this city moves toward further improving the club when the free-agent market opens this summer. He could do this city and the hockey world a favor by selling the franchise.
