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Chris Chelios
I was against the idea of the Red Wings resigning Chris Chelios last season. Not because I didn't think he could still play, but because I believed they had more than enough defenseman who could play better than him.
And I am glad they chose not to resign him for next season because I don't believe that he can play effectively at the NHL level anymore, the speed of the game has passed him by. Just picture Darren Helm. I am sad that he will be leaving the Red WIngs because he proved his value last season when he played in Grand Rapids. Everyone of the young defenseman on the Griffins benefitted by playing with him. And there in lies his true value now.
It was unfortunate for Chelios, 47, that he missed an extended period of time last season with a broken legn injury, and was limited to just 28 regular season and six playoffs games. But it helped the Red Wings in two ways, it helped them manage the salary cap and it limited their losses along the blueline.
Kyle Quincey was sacrificed at the start of the season by the Red Wings in order to manage the cap because of the decision to resign Chelios. Quincey had been groomed by the Red Wings since 2003 into an NHL ready defenseman, but they had to place him on wavers accomodate Chelios. Quincey went to the Los Angeles Kings where he averaged 20:58 of ice time per game and scored four goals and 34 assists for 38 points in 72 games.
Had Chelios been healthy the Red Wings would have had to clear more space under the salary cap and in order to do so would have had to swing a trade likely involving Brett Lebda or Andreas Lilja, or perhaps put Derek Meech on wavers in an attempt to send him to the minors. Meech would not have cleared wavers.
In my opinion that would have been giving up too much of the future.
As for the future, Chelios has stated that he would like to play at least one more season, preferably in the Eastern Conference. In my opinion his competitiveness is blinding him from the fact that he is more valuable off the ice and behind a bench than he is on the ice. That should be clear after Team USA has stated they will offer him a role with the Olympic team in an off-ice capacity. And the comments made by players such as Jonathan Ericsson and Jakub Kindl about learning from Chelios while he played in Grand Rapids this season are further proof that his future is behind the bench.
I wish him good luck and should he play next season I think it would be fitting if he played for another original six team, but if he does not find a team willing to grant him his wish, I hope he accepts the role that is best suited to him at this stage of his career and ideally that would be with Detroit.
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