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Chris Chelios

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Chris Chelios
File:Press004.jpg
Born January 15, 1962
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defenceman
Shoots Right
NHL team Detroit Red Wings
NHL draft 40th overall, 1981
Montréal Canadiens
Playing career 1983–present

Christos K. Chelios (born January 25, 1962 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. He has earned many awards during his long career, and is considered one of the best Americans to ever play in the NHL. With the retirement of Mark Messier, Chelios has become the oldest active player in the NHL, and with the retirement of Steve Yzerman, he has played the most games by an active player in the NHL.

Playing career

Chelios was raised in Southern California and was a standout youth hockey player. Chelios was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to being drafted, he played for the Moose Jaw Canucks of the SJHL. He played for two years at the University of Wisconsin after being drafted. In 1983, he was named to the All-Tournament Team and the Second WCHA All-Star Team. He made his debut for the Canadiens during the following season, playing twelve games in the regular season and 15 in the playoffs.

In 1984, he made the team for good, and distinguished himself with his play. He earned a trip to the National Hockey League All-Star Game and was named to the 1985 NHL All-Rookie Team. He scored 64 points in 74 games, a high total for a defenseman, even in the higher-scoring 1980s. In the playoffs that year, he scored 10 points in games, with a +17 plus/minus. Although he only played 41 games in the 1985-1986 season, he won his first Stanley Cup, playing in front of Conn Smythe Trophy winner Patrick Roy.

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice hockey
Silver medal – second place 2002 Salt Lake City Ice hockey

Following two more good seasons, Chelios really broke out in the 1988-1989 season. He scored 73 points in 80 games at +35, was named to the All-Star First-Team, and won the James Norris Memorial Trophy. After he only played 53 games in the next season, on June 29, 1990, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks with a 2nd-round draft pick for Denis Savard, who is now in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

File:Chriscup.jpg
Chris Chelios in 2002

In his first season with Chicago, he continued to score at his usual rate, tallying 64 points, and earned a spot on the Second NHL All-Star Team. After a slightly less offensively impressive season (although he had a very good playoffs), Chelios was in top form for the 1992-1993 season. He scored 73 points and won another Norris Trophy. In 1996, he would win it again. He was captain of the Blackhawks from 1995 to 1999.

By 1999, though, Chelios was starting to show signs of age. At 37, his career was clearly in decline, and he was no longer the offensive and defensive force he had once been. However, even if he did not have much to offer the Blackhawks, he could still help teams with his veteran leadership and his largely-remaining talent. On March 23, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Anders Eriksson and two first-round draft picks.

The move to Detroit, where he had fewer responsibilities and more skilled teammates, helped keep Chelios playing at close to his peak level. In 2002, his +40 plus/minus led the league, and he was again named to the First All-Star Team. He also led the United States hockey team to a silver medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics, and was named to the Tournament's All-Star Team. His season culminated in the Red Wings' victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals, giving Chelios his second Stanley Cup.

In 2004, due to the cancellation of the NHL season, Chelios, along with fellow Red Wing teammates Derian Hatcher and Kris Draper, decided to play hockey for the Motor City Mechanics, a UHL team based out of Fraser. He was heavily criticized for this decision as the UHL has a maximum salary in place, but at the same time he was strongly against a salary cap in the NHL. In October 2004 he trained with the U.S. bobsled federation in a bid to compete for the Greek bobsled team at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

August 4, 2005, the 43-year-old defenseman re-signed with the Red Wings for a one-year contract.

On February 1, 2006, Chelios was again named captain of the US Olympic Hockey Team. Chelios was also captain in the 1998 Nagano games and of the silver-medal-winning team in the 2002 Salt Lake City games.

Chelios (after he retires), will surely be elected to the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible. His 22-year career has shown that he can both score and play defense. He also plays with an edge to his game, as demonstrated by his 2803 penalty minutes. In his prime he combined his offensive skills with his physical edge to win 3 Norris Trophies. Over his career, he played in 11 All-Star games and was named to 7 NHL First or Second All-Star Teams. Even with his career tapering off, he has proved that he can play an important role for a Stanley Cup-winning team. All in all, Chelios has secured a legacy as one of the most decorated Americans to ever play in the NHL, and is considered by some to be the greatest American ever to play hockey.

On May 24, 2006, Chelios signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings. He will be 45 years old in January 2007, which makes him one of the oldest players in the history of NHL. On July 3, 2006, Chelios became the active leader for most games played upon the retirement of teammate Steve Yzerman.

Trivia

  • In 2004 Chris and surfer Laird Hamilton trained with the US bobsled team, and hoped to form the first Greek bobsled team at the 2006 Winter Olympics. They weren't successful
  • Grew up in Chicago, where his father, Constantine "Gus" Chelios owned a chain of Greek restaurants.
  • The family moved to Poway, CA in 1977 when his father left his struggling business in Chicago to open a restaurant in the San Diego area.
  • Was a Chicago Black Hawks fan during his childhood, but was more focused on football, idolizing Bears linebacker Dick Butkus.
  • Active in charitable causes during his playing days in Chicago, founding Cheli's Children.
  • Opened Cheli's Chili Bar restaurant in Dearborn, MI, in 2003.
  • Opened second Cheli's Chili Bar restaurant in downtown Detroit, MI, in 2006.
  • Older brother of former minor-leaguer Steve Chelios. Cousin of NHL player Nikos Tselios, whose father was one of Chelios' father's brothers. The family name was originally Tselios, but Gus Chelios changed his family's spelling to "Chelios."[1]
  • On Scrubs, Dr. Perry Cox often wears a Chelios Red Wings jersey; Chelios is friends with actor John C. McGinley, who portrays Cox.

Awards

Records

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1981-82 Wisconsin Badgers WCHA 43 6 43 49 50 - - - - -
1982-83 Wisconsin Badgers WCHA 45 16 32 48 62 - - - - -
1983-84 Montreal Canadiens NHL 10 0 2 2 12 15 1 9 10 17
1984-85 Montreal Canadiens NHL 74 9 55 64 87 9 2 8 10 17
1985-86 Montreal Canadiens NHL 41 8 26 34 67 20 2 9 11 49
1986-87 Montreal Canadiens NHL 71 11 33 44 124 17 4 9 13 38
1987-88 Montreal Canadiens NHL 71 20 41 61 172 11 3 1 4 29
1989-89 Montreal Canadiens NHL 80 15 58 73 185 21 4 15 19 28
1989-90 Montreal Canadiens NHL 53 9 22 31 136 5 0 1 1 8
1990-91 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 77 12 52 64 192 6 1 7 8 46
1991-92 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 80 9 47 56 245 18 6 15 21 37
1992-93 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 84 15 58 73 282 4 0 2 2 14
1993-94 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 76 16 44 60 212 6 1 1 2 8
1994-95 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 48 5 33 38 72 16 4 7 11 12
1994-95 EHC Biel Nationalliga A 3 0 3 3 4 - - - - -
1995-96 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 81 14 58 72 140 9 0 3 3 8
1996-97 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 72 10 38 48 112 6 0 1 1 8
1997-98 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 81 3 39 42 151 - - - - -
1998-99 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 65 8 26 34 89 - - - - -
1998-99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 10 1 1 2 4 10 0 4 4 14
1999-00 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 3 31 34 103 9 0 1 1 8
2000-01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 24 0 3 3 45 5 1 0 1 2
2001-02 Detroit Red Wings NHL 79 6 33 39 126 23 1 13 14 44
2002-03 Detroit Red Wings NHL 66 2 17 19 78 4 0 0 0 2
2003-04 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 2 19 21 61 8 0 1 1 4
2004-05 Motor City Mechanics UHL 23 5 19 24 25 - - - - -
2005-06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 4 7 11 108 6 0 0 0 6
NHL totals 1476 182 743 925 2803 228 30 107 137 384

Stats as of the end of the 2005-06 NHL season

International play

Preceded by US Men's Olympic Hockey Team Captain
1998, 2002, 2006 		Succeeded by
na
Preceded by Chicago Blackhawks captains
1995-99 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Montreal Canadiens captains
1989-90
Co-captains with Guy Carbonneau 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Norris Trophy
1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Norris Trophy
1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Norris Trophy
1989 		Succeeded by
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