Chris Chelios Still Wants to Play Hockey
August 22, 2009 by Jeanne Dupuis
Filed under NHL, News, Players
While he would consider offers from the Russian league, Chris Chelios is hoping some NHL team makes him an offer. The 46-year-old was dropped by the Detroit Red Wings after the postseason but he still wants to play the game.
image: Zuma Press
“I’ve let everyone know that I have every intention to play,” Chelios said Tuesday at the U.S. Olympic hockey team orientation camp. “It’s tough at my age to get the opportunity. In Detroit it was just a numbers game. We had the best team in the league, but at some point you’ve got to bring the young guys in. I totally understand it, but I think there’s a lot of teams I can help… I haven’t ruled out anything. There’s the Russian league, but the biggest thing is being away from family. I love the game and I want to play, but I love my kids more, so we’ll see what happens. I still consider myself a player. It’s awkward. It really is, but it’s a learning experience. But I do intend on staying in hockey and this is one step toward my post-career.”
He also talks about how weird it is to be skating alongside 20-year-old Patrick Kane: “It’s embarrassing – my son played against him growing up. They’re both born in 1989, so it’s pretty strange playing against a kid who played against my kid.”
Okay, let’s take a look at this whole scenario. The first thing is that, while I’m sure he wants to continue playing and is finding it hard to accept retirement, it’s also important to avoid looking desperate and, forgive me for saying this, but this just sounds desperate. Chelios has had too good a career to go down like this and I hope he eventually leaves the game with grace and his dignity in tact.
The second thing I want to say that, if he finds it embarrassing to be so old that he’s playing against some of his son’s former rivals, then it’s probably time to hang up the skates. He didn’t say “how cool is it that my son and I have both played against Kane?” He said it was “embarrassing.”
I’m not sure what’s left to be said here but I think it’s time for Chelios to bow out and maybe assume a coaching or assisting role in the NHL.
