Do We Want Chelios Back?

[Superman54 91]

He is an amazing guy, dont get me wrong, but is it really smart to re-sign him? With the low cap space now, and the huge log jam on defense, I just do not know if its the greatest idea in bringing the veteran back. Sure its good to have him for insurance reasons, but we already have guys like Lilja, Lebda, Quincey, Meech, and Ericcson to fill in that void. Im just worried whether having him hear effects the young players growth, and starts getting in the way for our upcoming guys. I personally think we do not need him anymore, and hope Holland feels the same way. Now all though Holland said Chelios was close to re-signing, he never knew we were gonna land Hossa, and that the cap space was much more limited. I don't know if this changes his approach on things, but I do wonder whether or not he now thinks twice in signing Chelios again.

[VM1138 1,921]

Yes, we need him. Maintain the veteran balance.

[12Newf 0]

i'd like to have him here in some capacity but i wish he would take the league minimum instead of like 850000 or whatever. i want to see some of the younger guys get more of a chance.

[Guest Dump-N-Thump]

No.

[miller76 463]

Sure why not. I have a Cheli jersey Ilike to sport to anger the Anaheim fans here in SoCal.

[skacore 2]

no

[C-TownWing 0]

Yes. He had a bad playoffs, I won't argue that point, but he's still effective in his role, particularly on the PK. Oh, and he's expressed willingness to be the 7th D if need be, so the idea that he's holding the kids back is BS. If Meech/Ericsson/Quincey beat him out, they'll get the regular minutes on the 3rd pair, plain and simple. And the price is right too.

So thumbs up from me, although in the interest of full disclosure, I'll point out that I'm a huge Cheli fan.

[Pucks 66]

Chris appears to be one of those players that needs to be told to retire.

[Z and D for the C 712]

He should be the last person to get signed and lowest on the priority list. I love Cheli, but if he can't fit then he can't fit, and it's not a huge lose.

[ch777 0]

I would prefer to see some of the young prospects get a few games. At least that is some experience they can get.

[Guest Four]

Last priority player tbh

[Saran 1]

id personally pass if i had to choose yay or nay

[Jericho613 74]

I say re-sign him for this year, but next year no.

[LidsFan 68]

They should bring Cheli back so that he can mentor the young "D" , he has a lot that he can teach them. Cheli should be rotated in and out of the line-up as needed. Or maybe they should offer him a coaching job. I think that he would be a great defensive coach.

[Guest Four]

They should bring Cheli back so that he can mentor the young "D" , he has a lot that he can teach them. Cheli should be rotated in and out of the line-up as needed. Or maybe they should offer him a coaching job. I think that he would be a great defensive coach.

Would that require getting rid of our present D coach?

[LidsFan 68]

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.

[BeeRYCE 2]

He's locker room character, so hire him as an assistant coach or a trainer. He'd do great at both.

I'll be honest though, there are 8-9 defensemen in our system better than him. Bigger, stronger, faster, and more skillful.

[DYags 0]

Getting rid of Cheli is like putting down the household dog you've grown to love. You don't want to do it, but you know it's time.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

It still confusing me why we re-signed Lilja. Good guy, decent player. But as a depth defenceman, I'd rather have Chelios for like 650k, and the have Quincey/Meech/Chelios all compete for the 6 spot, would make the competetion better. I still think that if Meech, Quincey or Ericsson have good camps, Lilja will be dealt somewhere.

[LeDs 0]

Yes! Keep him. Chelios is a warrior. Babcock and Holland know what they are doing and they think he can help the team.

[55fan 5,133]

Well, we've got the top 4 sewn up: Lids, Raf, Kron, Stu.

Holland has said he's carrying 8 D this year, so I assume one will be Meech since he's like having an extra forward. Let's mentally put him as #8 for now for that reason. A good camp and he may move up from that. Big Jon will be back in GR, barring a killer camp, since he doesn't have waiver worries.

That leaves #5, 6, and 7 open. We have Lilja, Lebda, Quincey, and Cheli going for those 3 spots. Lilja and Lebda will be 5 & 6, so it comes down to Quincey or Cheli for the #7. I love Quincey, but I'd take Cheli over him.

I forsee Quincey either spending the season in GR, with Jon being called up if needed so as not to be exposed, or Quincey going to another team somewhere along the line. In my opinion, that would suck, but like him or not, he does seem to be the logical odd man out.

Edited July 7, 2008 by 55fan

[Guest LivingtheDream]

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.

Right on! That's his real value - TO the up and coming kids. Face it, who has more experience? He is (ok was) a great D man - hall of famer. You can't find that kind of experience on the street.

[norrisnick 1]

It still confusing me why we re-signed Lilja. Good guy, decent player. But as a depth defenceman, I'd rather have Chelios for like 650k, and the have Quincey/Meech/Chelios all compete for the 6 spot, would make the competetion better. I still think that if Meech, Quincey or Ericsson have good camps, Lilja will be dealt somewhere.

Because at his age the things we're asking of the stay-at-home 3rd pairing/PK specialist Cheli can't do anymore.

[Swede40 0]

Well, we've got the top 4 sewn up: Lids, Raf, Kron, Stu.

Holland has said he's carrying 8 D this year, so I assume one will be Meech since he's like having an extra forward. Let's mentally put him as #8 for now for that reason. A good camp and he may move up from that. Big Jon will be back in GR, barring a killer camp, since he doesn't have waiver worries.

That leaves #5, 6, and 7 open. We have Lilja, Lebda, Quincey, and Cheli going for those 3 spots. Lilja and Lebda will be 5 & 6, so it comes down to Quincey or Cheli for the #7. I love Quincey, but I'd take Cheli over him.

I forsee Quincey either spending the season in GR, with Jon being called up if needed so as not to be exposed, or Quincey going to another team somewhere along the line. In my opinion, that would suck, but like him or not, he does seem to be the logical odd man out.

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

[stormboy 47]

i would have preferred that we didn't resign lilja, keep cheli for one more year as we train the younger guys, then next year let ericcson/meech/quincey fill out the d. but we have lilja. and i would really hate to see one of our young d-men be dealt/lost on waivers so that chelios can play one more so-so year. as many have said, i love the guy, and my opinion is in no way a bash to cheli. but there will be a day, some years down the road, when i say that pavel datsyuk is no longer worth keeping in the system. (this assumes, of course, that pasha doesn't retire at the peak of his career.) the point is, it may be time to move on. i hate to say it. if chelios were still a powerhouse on defense, i might say that it's worth risking some of our future for one more great chance at a cup. but, from where i sit, keeping chelios does not significantly increase our chances to win the cup next year...at least not so much that it is worth either losing a defensive prospect or impeding any of their development.

my opinion: don't sign him. but, then again, maybe there is something to be said for giving a hall of fame d-man another year against all odds. *shrug* we shall see. either way, we're still in good shape.