The best hockey player Chicago has produced had his 41st birthday Saturday. But for Chris Chelios there was nothing to celebrate because he and his Detroit teammates lost in Calgary.
“When we win, I love it,” said Chelios, explaining what compels him to continue playing. “When we lose, I don’t love it.”
The former Mt. Carmel High School star and ex-Blackhawk captain loved last season when the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup. This season the love story has had its ups and downs.
With the season approaching the All-Star break, the Red Wings are struggling to hold off St. Louis for first place in the Central Division.
Injuries have been a factor and reliable high scorers like Luc Robitaille have struggled. Nevertheless, Chelios believes the Red Wings have what it takes to be his third Stanley Cup-winning team.
“This is the most skilled team I’ve ever been on, that’s for sure,” said the veteran of 19 NHL seasons who was on the Montreal Canadiens’ championship team in 1989 and played for the Blackhawks when they lost to Pittsburgh in the 1992 finals. “It looks like the old Edmonton days, with all those great players.”
The Red Wings’ $68,005,506 payroll is the second highest in the NHL behind the New York Rangers’ $69,177,085. Chelios has one year remaining on a contract that pays him $5,919,506 annually, the fifth-highest-salary on the squad.
Chelios is coming off a superlative season. He had six goals and 33 assists–his best assist total since he had 39 in 1997-98, his last year in Chicago–his plus/minus rating of plus-40 was the best in the NHL and he was the runner-up in the Norris Trophy voting.
This year he has two goals and 14 assists and a plus-7. But Detroit coach Dave Lewis believes Chelios’ contributions go far beyond the statistics.
“Nobody plays like Chris Chelios. When you’re at the draft and hear people talk and they say `This kid is a Chris Chelios type of defenseman’ that’s a real honor–to have a style of game named for you.”
