San Jose — On the day before their playoff series started against the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson was weighing in on 45-year-old Chris Chelios, a player he coached three times internationally for the United States. Wilson was marveling at Chelios's staying power — oldest player in the league, 22 seasons in the playoffs, someone who'd played parts of two National Hockey League seasons before his current defence partner, Kyle Quincy, had even been born.
"There is absolutely nobody like Cheli in terms of his conditioning and competitiveness," ventured Wilson, in his usual deadpan manner, "and he's played that way since the beginning of his career, when I was in high school, watching him."
Wilson, of course, is 52 and knew he'd gotten off a good one when Chelios, the Detroit Red Wings' defenceman, bumped into him in the corridor the next day. Hunched over, walking as if he had a cane in his hand, mimicking a doddering old man, Chelios said to Wilson: "Yeah, right, you remember watching me in high school."
Chelios achieved a rare and noteworthy milestone during Saturday's second game of the San Jose Sharks' playoff series, a 3-2 Red Wings' victory, in which he started the play that led to the game-winning goal. It was the 236th playoff game of his career, tying him with Mark Messier for second-place on the all-time games played list. Monday's third game of the San Jose-Detroit series will move Chelios past Messier and depending upon how deep the Red Wings go into the playoffs, he could conceivably pass the leader, Patrick Roy at 247, sometime in May.
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- Calgary Flames
- Detroit Red Wings
- San Jose Sharks
- Chris Chelios
- Kris Draper
- Bill Guerin
- Dominik Hasek
- Kyle Quincey
Even at his age, Chelios is as quick as ever, according to his teammates.
"Without the puck, I'm as good as I ever was," Chelios acknowledged carefully.
With the puck, it's obviously a different story.
"My whole role has changed offensively, as far as power play goes," he said. "Before, I always had a defensive partner, like Craig Ludwig, so I tended to have the puck a lot more. It's hard to judge. It's partly opportunity. I'm very fortunate at my age to still be in the league, so I'm content with the role I have.
"Like I've said all year, I'd like to sink my teeth into that power-play action. It'd be awesome — but that's just not the way it is here."
Sharks' winger Bill Guerin, a former teammate of Chelios's, calls him a physical "freak of nature," but says: "He works his ass off too. He loves the game more than anybody I know. He deserves all the accolades he gets, with what he's done in his career and the type of leader he's been.
"He's the best American player ever."
There was a day in the opening playoff round against the Calgary Flames when Red Wings' coach Mike Babcock made a practice optional. Apart from the spare players, whose attendance was mandatory, only two others made the trek out to a suburban rink — Chelios and 42-year-old Dominik Hasek.
"It made you think, 'Cheli's going, Dom's going, do I need to go too?' " said Red Wings' centre Kris Draper. Draper, a Red Wing since the 1993-1994 season, described Chelios's conditioning program as second to none.
"After a game and the first thing the next morning, he grabs a bike and throws it into the sauna and does a 20-minute ride," Draper said. "Then he does a hot tub/cold tub sort of thing. He is an inspiration to the young guys around here, when they see someone like Cheli, with such a great passion for the game.
"As much as Cheli likes coming to the rink every day, at this time of year, he thrives. That's when his real competitive nature comes out — how much he wants to play, how badly he wants to win. Those are the things that you see in a true leader and a great player."
Chelios was a teammate on Hasek's first NHL squad, the 1990-91 Blackhawks. They played together there; won a championship with the Red Wings in 2002; and now, for the third time in the twilights of their respective careers, find themselves together again.
"What can I say about Cheli?" Hasek said. "He loves the game and competes like no one else I've ever played with. You can depend on him every night. He always plays hard. He never gives up — never ever. That's what keeps him in the league and keeps him as a great defenceman."
The father of his current defence partner, Kyle Quincey, is 48 — only three years older than Chelios himself.
"Obviously, I'm just a sponge when I'm around him," Quincey said. "I'm absorbing everything I can. Cheli, he's really good at downplaying things and making me confident and composed out there.
"He's only three years younger than my dad, but I don't really think of it in those terms. If you knew Cheli, he's really young minded."
Sort of a 45-year-old going on 21?
"Exactly," answered Quincy. "He's one of the guys I can relate too. We're very similar in a lot of ways. I think that's why we get along so well."
As the years added up, the Red Wings have tried to keep Chelios's playing minutes down. Nominally, he is fifth or sixth on their depth chart, but when injuries strike — as they did again this year, with both Nicklas Kronwall and Brett Ledba out of the line-up — his role increases.
"Then you see Cheli jumping in and licking his chops and eating up more minutes," said Draper. "That shows you, he's so reliable. Even to this day, you can play him in all sorts of situations - and when you have injuries, he can certainly handle the minutes."
Maybe even some of those elusive power-play minutes.
