The Detroit Red Wings announced that they would not be offering 47 year old D-Man Chris Chelios a new contract, ending his run with that team.
Watching Chelios in the last couple of years was amazing, here is a guy, virtually my age, banging away with the best and the youngest of them in the NHL. I am sure that, if he wanted to, he could find a slot on another team, but should he? I think no.
Chelios has a chance to go out virtually on top. While the Wings did not win the Stanley Cup this year, he still played a decent number of minutes and proved what a person could do when motivated and driven to stay in shape. He is an inspiration to not just athletes, but to anyone approaching or just past middle-age who thinks getting out of the bed in the morning counts as a sit-up.
He truly has nothing left to prove, so winding up playing on the third line in Tampa or Los Angeles would just put a black mark on his illustrious career. Chelios has a lot to offer hockey and he should find a way to stick around, but not as a player.
But, who am I to say.
Keywords: Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks
