Do We Want Chelios Back?

[Chelios57 31]

Exactly. He'll earn his spot, and continue to make our young D better. He'll play in half the games, and (when he is in) continue to play in the top PK pairing with Nicklas Lidstrom - a fact that many of you idiots seem to forget. One bad Dallas series and "Cheli's done". - Zion

My feelings exactly. As a huge Chelios fan, of course I want him on the team. Yet in saying that, the only players who should be on the ice are the ones who've earned it.

Rest assured, at the end of the day, the only players left on the ice will be the ones who Babcock and Holland (knowledgably) choose. And I'll sleep good knowing that.

Edited July 8, 2008 by Chelios57

[T.Low 1,011]

What a luxury we have, arguing weather we should keep a hall of fame defenseman who arguably still has NHL calilber skills at least in a regular season setting.

3 time norris trophy winner

While Lidstrom is busy with the opponents first line and quarterbacking the power play, Chelios is defending, and holding the hand of the young'ens. Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronner, Stuart and Chelios are the defensemen that Stanley Cup Champions are made of. That combination reaks of Dynasty!

Young players will learn exponnentially faster with Chelios sitting on the bench with them, giving them a clinic between shifts and pointing out what the on ice defensemen are doing that is working. He's a freakin bargain at $850K

Edited July 8, 2008 by T.Low

[Zion 93]

Not to mention embarrassing them in the workout department.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I remember back in 2006 when everyone said he should hang them up, and he had nothing left in the tank, and should just retire already. Then he went out and had a playoffs similar to that of a number 2 defenceman on most teams. Chelios will be fine.

[DogBolter 0]

If he'll sign, I'd like him back on the team. He is a machine.

[IceMunkee 15]

Cheli to me is one of the players that can play as long as he likes. Plus, he is still competetive. He is not the best out there but far from a liability. If Lilja can still play so can Cheli.

[Wing Across The Pond 196]

Maybe he can work with the "D" coach we already have. Cheli's experience as a defenseman is invaluable and I am sure that they could find a spot for him.

I've been in France for a few weeks but as far as I know we still dont have an assistant coach. Would it be worth trying to do something with this an Cheli. I'm not saying give him the assistants job, but maybe shift some people around.

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

I hear lots of "keep him around to help make the young kids better players" How is Chelios going to make Ericsson a better player when Jon is in GR and Chelios is on a road trip out west. ( Or even in Detroit) How is he going to help make Quincy into a better player after he is lost to waivers?

[Happy Pancake 6]

Eh I don't mind him coming back though if he retired I would be glad to give a younger guy a shot. My only hope is that he doesn't try to stay so long that the Wings have to tell him not to come back.

[Guest Dump-N-Thump]

If only we'd do this with Darren McCarty.

Difference between giving Cheli 12minutes and McCarty 5minutes of playing time.

[55fan 5,133]

Quincey is a RFA and has to make the team or risk being claimed off waivers.

Thank you. I had totally forgotten that Quincey was not signed.

I guess that leaves Quincey to battle it out and prove that he is better than any of the others vying for that spot. That will be a tough battle. It will be even tougher to pick which one I want until I see them in camp. I guess I know how Holland feels right now, except that he is the one who has to live with the decision.

[octopusonice 0]

Exactly. He'll earn his spot, and continue to make our young D better. He'll play in half the games, and (when he is in) continue to play in the top PK pairing with Nicklas Lidstrom - a fact that many of you idiots seem to forget. One bad Dallas series and "Cheli's done".

It would show him respect for what he has done for this team in the past while still being fair to the business side (i.e. we got a team to run and a Cup to win, can't be nostalgic) of the team.

[detroit4life 0]

It's stupid quotes like this one that make me wish we could rate posters, so that we could skip posts like this one and keep reading.

Lol, your absolutely right. While we are at it let's let him play til he is 50. That way, we will not only lose Kyle Quincey this year, but Jonathan Ericsson and others in the next few years, due to Chelios "earning" his place on defence. Because Chelios is so valuable as a mentor while he is playing. He gets to talk to the player beside him in between shifts. Watching the play and waiting for a change. Thats way better than having him BEHIND the bench, watching the ENTIRE game. Being able to talk to every single player as the game progresses. STILL being a locker room presence, STILL being a mentor during practice, STILL being a veteren leader. Who needs to give their young players icetime? Detroit won the Stanley Cup with the help of Chelios..........er...........uh...... wait a minute, wasn't he scratched for every single second of the Finals? Interesting move by the coaching staff. But they probably didn't see the upside of having him in the lineup that you obviously saw. If anything, I would sign Chelios to a TWO WAY contract. You wanna talk about leadership? He can lead the Griffins. Teach ALL the young defencemen. Then his "mentoring" would be put to use in game situations. That, I would be happy with.

[jvxp 0]

Lol, your absolutely right. While we are at it let's let him play til he is 50. That way, we will not only lose Kyle Quincey this year, but Jonathan Ericsson and others in the next few years, due to Chelios "earning" his place on defence. Because Chelios is so valuable as a mentor while he is playing. He gets to talk to the player beside him in between shifts. Watching the play and waiting for a change. Thats way better than having him BEHIND the bench, watching the ENTIRE game. Being able to talk to every single player as the game progresses. STILL being a locker room presence, STILL being a mentor during practice, STILL being a veteren leader. Who needs to give their young players icetime? Detroit won the Stanley Cup with the help of Chelios..........er...........uh...... wait a minute, wasn't he scratched for every single second of the Finals? Interesting move by the coaching staff. But they probably didn't see the upside of having him in the lineup that you obviously saw. If anything, I would sign Chelios to a TWO WAY contract. You wanna talk about leadership? He can lead the Griffins. Teach ALL the young defencemen. Then his "mentoring" would be put to use in game situations. That, I would be happy with.

Nice !

[egroen 384]

Maybe Toronto will throw a $3 million offer sheet Quincey's way???

Too many posters here are assuming Quincey/Meech/Ericsson will be a better defenceman than Chelios... maybe they will be, but not a single one of them is right now. Chelios is slow, that's it. In '07 playoffs when Detroit's defence was decimated Chelios was getting top line minutes and performing superbly. He had a couple bad line changes in the playoffs this year, and way too many of you are willing to hang him out to dry.

This is a close to league minimum player who can be counted on for top line penalty kills and second line even strength play in spurts. Quincey is not going to give you that for years, and when he does you will be paying him a hell of a lot more than what Chelios wants. Ericsson is intriguing, but I saw him make more bone-headed mistakes in one game than Chelios did all year -- just none of Ericsson's mistakes resulted in a Lilja-esque goal against so he was given freebies by fans. He is not ready for the NHL.

[Guest Dump-N-Thump]

Too many posters here are assuming Quincey/Meech/Ericsson will be a better defenceman than Chelios... maybe they will be, but not a single one of them is right now. Chelios is slow, that's it. In '07 playoffs when Detroit's defence was decimated Chelios was getting top line minutes and performing superbly. He had a couple bad line changes in the playoffs this year, and way too many of you are willing to hang him out to dry.

Offensivly i think they all will be better then Cheli.. and hey in detroit thats all that matters right??

Personaly I'm just tired of seeing Chelios's face, And i just hate thinking that we could loose Quincey and Meech just because Cheli cant let go..

I think he would be a very valuable player if he was used sparingly, He needs to be healthy and refreshed to make an impact. When he has a heavy workload game in game out, His game starts to slip.. same goes with Lilja and many other 3rd pairings.

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

Maybe Toronto will throw a $3 million offer sheet Quincey's way???

Too many posters here are assuming Quincey/Meech/Ericsson will be a better defenceman than Chelios... maybe they will be, but not a single one of them is right now. Chelios is slow, that's it. In '07 playoffs when Detroit's defence was decimated Chelios was getting top line minutes and performing superbly. He had a couple bad line changes in the playoffs this year, and way too many of you are willing to hang him out to dry.

This is a close to league minimum player who can be counted on for top line penalty kills and second line even strength play in spurts. Quincey is not going to give you that for years, and when he does you will be paying him a hell of a lot more than what Chelios wants. Ericsson is intriguing, but I saw him make more bone-headed mistakes in one game than Chelios did all year -- just none of Ericsson's mistakes resulted in a Lilja-esque goal against so he was given freebies by fans. He is not ready for the NHL.

We don't know what Meech and Quincy are fully capable of until they play. You are right about one thing, Quincy will never be counted on by the Wings for top line penalty kills after he has been lost to waivers because Chelios needs a roster spot.

[T.Low 1,011]

I hear lots of "keep him around to help make the young kids better players" How is Chelios going to make Ericsson a better player when Jon is in GR and Chelios is on a road trip out west. ( Or even in Detroit) How is he going to help make Quincy into a better player after he is lost to waivers?

Obviously, you are paraphrasing. First off, Chelios is more effective on the ice than Ericsson, otherwise, Holland and Babcock would not have him on the ice.

2ndly, would you like to see 2 inexperienced d men teamed up together, so they can both make mistakes at the same time over and over again for a few years until they start to figure it out? Or would you work in a new guy with an effective, 3 time Norris trophy winner, who has multiple Stanley Cups, and more playoff games than just about everyone else in the world?

One in the hand is worth two in the bush. Chelios is a known entity (one in the hand) and still more effective than Ericsson and Quincey ( the two still in the bush).

[Heaton 1]

Wait, how is Chelios taking away icetime from any of the young kids when he's not going to get any icetime for himself?

[overHandright1 2]

I think Holland has a soft spot for Chelli and doesn't want to be the "bad guy" in the situation. Chelios wants to play another year, but I don't think that Holland should re-sign him because it's not in the best interest of the TEAM.

If Chris can honestly say to himself "the Wings will be better with me on the roster" than he is only fooling himself. I was in the "Chelios is a valuable mentor" camp at the start of this past season even though he doesn't give up the body anymore, lets the opposition get to the puck in the corners first and then "tries" to tie up that player until the center helps him, and his speed has suffered. During the season I started to see him degrade even more which is unfortunate.

Your time in the league as a player is up Chris ... retirement is before you ... embrace it and let all of your fans remember you as the great player you were. There's nothing more painful than watching a player trying to keep up when they are obviously past their usefulness to the team. The last time I saw Chelios up close and in person he was at a Cubs/White Sox game ... drunk off his azz with a wh*re under each arm (even though he's married). If he insists on playing another year with the Wings I will probably remember him that way.

Edited July 9, 2008 by overHandright1

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

It's stupid quotes like this one that make me wish we could rate posters, so that we could skip posts like this one and keep reading.

Exactly. He'll earn his spot, and continue to make our young D better. He'll play in half the games, and (when he is in) continue to play in the top PK pairing with Nicklas Lidstrom - a fact that many of you idiots seem to forget. One bad Dallas series and "Cheli's done".

Its stupid posts like this that make me not respect you. Chelios was BENCHED in the playoffs, because Babcock and Holland knew Lilija gave more to the team in terms of immediate benifit.

I remember back in 2006 when everyone said he should hang them up, and he had nothing left in the tank, and should just retire already. Then he went out and had a playoffs similar to that of a number 2 defenceman on most teams. Chelios will be fine.

Remember back in 2008 when he was benched after a couple horrible games? YEAH!!!

[Skiing - Puck 0]

I think his time has come to retire from playing. I think he would be a bigger asset as a strength and conditioning / defence coach.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Remember back in 2008 when he was benched after a couple horrible games? YEAH!!!

Horrible games? Please. One bad line change and everyone wants him out of town. Chelios hurt his leg against Dallas and despite being healthy for games 3-6 of the Finals, Babcock didnt want to change a winning line-up. It had nothing to do with how Cheli was playing.

Edited July 9, 2008 by Detroit # 1 Fan

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Wait, how is Chelios taking away icetime from any of the young kids when he's not going to get any icetime for himself?

If you want Chelios to retire simply b/c he is "old" and has nothing else to prove/offer the game for HIMSELF, I totally undertand that.

But, that is not likely happening, and I do not understand other reasons why some are up in arms about this when Chelios will be making a minimal amount and will probably be the 7th or 8th defenseman on the roster like it has always been planned since the Wings won the Cup.

Pretty much the entire defense roster is the same (am not sure of Lebda's status if he is a free agent or not, I'm not good with keeping track of that stuff), which meant that young guys in Quincey or Meech or Ericsson didn't even play to start when everybody was healthy. It'll likely be the same thing this upcoming season assuming the defensemen are the same, and this is even without Chelios expected to play a whole lot.

[Zion 93]

Its stupid posts like this that make me not respect you. Chelios was BENCHED in the playoffs, because Babcock and Holland knew Lilija gave more to the team in terms of immediate benifit.

Remember back in 2008 when he was benched after a couple horrible games? YEAH!!!

He did not play in the Stanley Cup Finals (a healthy scratch after a "leg injury"), but played throughout the playoffs. I've said it before: most of you forget about the game before last, so I would fully expect you to forget previous playoff series. Are you even able to name our opponents? I'll let you Google this one. As for me, I watched every game this season, including attending 3 games (and one open practice), so I know how well (and not-so-well) Chelios was this year. Obviously, you don't... or you'd know how well he was on the top PK pairing (how many times must I repeat this?) and on the 3rd even strength pairing. Oh, and learn to spell.

Horrible games? Please. One bad line change and everyone wants him out of town. Chelios hurt his leg against Dallas and despite being healthy for games 3-6 of the Finals, Babcock didnt want to change a winning line-up. It had nothing to do with how Cheli was playing.

Pretty much sums it up. Too many posters here have short attention spans.