"I think about how things went for me as
a kid and there's no reason in the world
that I should have ever been in the NHL
and now, to get this honor, it's unreal,"
Chelios said. "The fact that I played as long
as I did obviously had a bearing on it."
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VARSITY September 19, 2013
"The fact that I played as long as I did obviously
had a bearing on it."
The indefatigable Chelios played in more games
(1,651) than any defenseman in NHL history. He
was also the only player to have appeared in more
than 400 games for three different teams.
Chelios accounted for 185 goals, 763 assists and
2,891 penalty minutes during his epic run with the
Chicago Blackhawks (664 games), the Detroit Red
Wings (578) and the Montreal Canadiens (402).
There was also a brief seven-game stint
with the Atlanta Thrashers before Chelios
announced his retirement on August 31,
2010. He was 48, making him the secondoldest player in NHL history.
At 51, Gordie Howe was the oldest.
"Second place to Gordie Howe is more
than good enough, trust me. He's Mr. Hockey," Chelios said. "I will take the title for being the oldest American to play."
Chelios, an 11-time All-Star, was quite
simply the greatest American-bred player,
period.
"Honestly, until I got the call (from the
Hall of Fame), it was still hard to believe it
was going to happen," insisted Chelios, a
member of three Stanley Cup championship
teams, two in Detroit.
"My agent told me after I won my first
Norris Trophy (in 1989) 'If you win two
more, you'll get into the Hall of Fame.' I think
he was just joking at the time.
"But after I won my third Norris Trophy
(which annually goes to the league's top defenseman), he gave me an 'I told you so.'
"They talk about some guys getting to the
league when they're too young and I would
have been right in that group (coming out of
the Saskatchewan Junior League).
"I wasn't ready. I had only played defense
for a couple of years.
"But thank God for Grant Standbrook."
Standbrook was the wily Wisconsin assistant coach who tutored Chelios during
his two seasons with the Badgers; the last of
which culminated with an NCAA championship in 1983.
"Grant single-handedly manufactured
players, especially defensemen," Chelios
