Chris Chelios - Chris Chelios: Made in America

To the memory of my sister, Gigi.

C.C.

To Nate Brown, a Detroit Red Wings fan living openly among Blackhawks fans in Chicago.

K.A.

Contents

Foreword by Wayne Gretzky

The first time I lined up against Chris Chelios in the NHL, I remember thinking that he wasnt very big for a player who was supposed to be a tough defenseman.

By the time I played my second shift against him, I had changed my mind about how big he looked.

Every time I was on the ice against Chris, I knew I was going to be subjected to in-your-face defending. I made it my business to always know where Chris was when I was playing against his team; I wanted to know if he was in the corner, in front of the net, or drinking Gatorade on the bench. He played a hard, edgy game. He was going to do what he needed to do to win. In that regard, he reminds me of my former Edmonton Oilers teammate Kevin Lowe.

Chris was an honest player. He never cheated on his effort and he respected the game. He used to run me all the time, but I knew that he didnt want to hurt me. He just wanted to win. You have to walk a fine line when you play with the edge that Chris did, but against me, he never crossed the line between clean and dirty play.

Im right behind you! he would yell, just before he clobbered me.

He was particularly effective when he played for the Blackhawks in the smallish Chicago Stadium. You never seemed to have much time to make a play in that building, especially when Chris was always all over you making the situation worse.

But whether Chris was playing in Montreal, Chicago, or Detroit, his only objective was to be a champion. He was the ultimate team guy.

Chris has an overflowing passion for the game. He played the same way at age 28 and 38 as he did at 48. He played with the same passion in October as he did in May.

Even though we never played on the same team, we are close friends today. Oddly enough, our friendship began during the Canada Cup. Although I played for Canada and Chris is American, we got to know each other through mutual acquaintances. Later, when I ended up in Los Angeles, I was roommates with Tony Granato, and he and Chris are good friends. It was easy to see why. In addition to being Wisconsin alumni, they both played a pesky style and they both have big hearts. It was clear that Tony had unwavering respect for Chris.

What I like about Chris is his honesty. He tells you what he is thinking. He wont lie to you. You know where you stand with him. Hes the kind of friend who would do anything for you. If you need help, hes the first guy you want to call.

After he bought a home in Malibu, California, I saw him even more during the summer. My family, particularly my children, always loved his Stanley Cup parties. Chris would park the Cup on the beach and people were drawn to it like metal to a magnet.

My former teammate Mark Messier once said there wasnt a single thing about the game of hockey that he didnt like. He said he loved the travel, the practice, the competition, the camaraderie, talking to the media, and all of the rest that goes into playing in the NHL. Thats the kind of passion that Gordie Howe had.

And thats the kind of passion that Chris Chelios had.

All three of those guys were smart, unselfish, Hall of Fame players who played a quarter of a century in the NHL. You had to take away their skates because they wouldnt give them up. They were from different eras, but they were tied together by their passion and their love of competition. Howe, Messier, and Chelios were cut from a different cloth than other players. I believe their longevity stemmed from their passion.

When retired players get together, they always discuss their fond memories of playing against one another. Unfortunately, Chris and I never faced each other in an NHL playoff series. Even though we dont know for sure how that series would have turned out, I have a pretty good idea: Chris would have been out against me every shift, and he would have had that trademark smirk on his face every time he clobbered me.

Wayne Gretzky

Prologue by Kevin Allen

It was a scene in a conference room, not on the ice, that cemented my belief that defenseman Chris Chelios is the greatest American-born player in hockey history.

Top American players were showing up one by one to fill out their paperwork in anticipation of the 2002 Olympic Games. As guys started to arrive, each was greeted by hellos and nods. Brian Leetch received extra handshakes. And there was a small commotion when Mike Modano and Jeremy Roenick entered the room.

But when Chelios stepped through the doorway, it was a different story. Modano and Roenick jumped from their seats and greeted Chelios as if Elvis had just entered the building.

It was probably similar to what occurred when Frank Sinatra entered a nightclub in the 1950s. Twenty seconds after his entrance, Chelios was the center of attention. At least 10 players formed a half-circle around him. Stories were told. Barbs were thrown. Laughter was heard.

Not long after witnessing that scene, I wrote a column ranking the top American players in hockey history. It was as if I had just unlocked the DNA code of the American herd. It was clear to me that Chelios was the binding agent that tied this talented collection of players together. Based on his impact, and the intangibles that were on display at that gathering in Colorado Springs, Colorado, I ranked Chelios No. 1 for the first time.

Many people around the NHL talked to me about that list, and some disagreed with putting Chelios at the top. But no one has ever said to me that Chelios shouldnt be part of the conversation.

The players who rose up to greet Chelios in Colorado Springs constituted Americas greatest hockey generation and he was unequivocally the leader of that group. He was the alpha dog of the American program. That would have been clear to anyone who had seen the interaction between Chelios and the American players.

He is the godfather of American hockey, and I think many of the guys feel that way about him, said Roenick.

Doug Weight once joked that when Chelios was born he entered the world with sergeant stripes on his arms. He is a natural leader, someone who organizes the team parties and then is first in line when trouble breaks out on the ice.

If you were in a pillbox and the enemy was attacking, Chris is who you would want in there with you, said Russell Lowell, his friend of more than 30 years.

Some of Chelios teammates call him Captain America.

He stands up to everyone and backs down from no one, said Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill.

Chelios accomplishments speak for themselves: an NCAA championship, three Stanley Cup championships, three Norris Trophies (and two-time runner-up), and induction into the U.S. and Hockey halls of fame as soon as he was eligible. He played on four U.S. Olympic teams, the last one in 2006 when he was 44 years old.

Some argue that Leetch should be the top-ranked player, or even Modano or Pat LaFontaine. Some even argue for Eveleth, Minnesota, goalie Frank Brimsek, who was a star in the NHL in the 1930s and 1940s when the league was almost exclusively a Canadian club.

Brimsek won the Calder Trophy in 193839, two Vezina Trophies as the NHLs top goalie, plus two Stanley Cup championships. Although Brimsek played only 10 NHL seasons, his name often appears on lists of the top 100 NHL players of all time.

Michigan native LaFontaine would have had a stronger case if his career had not been shortened by post-concussion syndrome. He was 33 when he retired, and yet still finished with 1,013 points in 865 games.