Chelios

[ComradeWasabi 109]

He's in the lineup and I understand that his conditioning is probably not the best, but he's straight up being benched by Babs. What's the deal? He took a stupid high-sticking penalty today but apart from that I can't figure out why he wouldn't be playing, especially since it forced us to play Stuart for well over 45 minutes today.

[Rivalred 630]

To be honest, he needs to retire. I was worried he would take some penalties in game 1 and would cost us the game. You can verify that with HockeyMatters because I told him the same as we were at the game watching.

Well, look what happened in game #2. High stick, PP Ducks, goal scored.

[b.shanafan14 733]

Chelios has shown his age a great deal this year. He doesn't pass with authority, he gets caught with players behind him, he takes lazy/stupid penalties. If Rafalski was healthy, Chelios would be done. Love Cheli and we've had some great years, but its time to go. He isn't an asset anymore, he is a liability.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

If you want to look at one of the (many) reasons we lost today, its because we're essentially playing with 5 Dman. Through 5+ periods of hockey today, Chelios played less than 7 minutes.

That has repercussions on:

1. Energy - our other 5 guys need to be overplayed.

2. Line changes - 5 Dmen means constant changing of D pairings, which creates confusion at the bench.

3. Familiarity - Our Dmen constantly have to be aware of who they're playing with. Forget for a second that you're playing with Stuart, and not Lebda, and that play you're used to making with Lebda is no longer a natural move.

This is like a bad nightmare. We're yet again without 2 very important Dmen on our blueline, and its taking its toll.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

He needs to play more and I think Babcock's lack of confidence in him is unfounded.

Chelli feels like he has a lot to prove and I'd like to see Babcock give him more of a shot.

[Mike 0]

Cheli doesn't get played because he is a liability. Bad penalties, bad passing, bad positioning, etc. The last guy I wanted to see in OT was Cheli. Kopecky was bad enough, but not Cheli.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Other then the penalty today, he's had one bad giveaway, otherwise he's been physical and always makes the smart play, he has more to contribute, but we wont get to see it. This isnt the way Chelios should've gone out, but after the way Babs is treating him, I cant imagine a team being interested next year.

[vangvace 12]

Of everything that might be a problem with Chelios only playing 7 minutes, conditioning shouldn't be on that list.

[Zeke 5]

He needs to play more and I think Babcock's lack of confidence in him is unfounded.

Chelli feels like he has a lot to prove and I'd like to see Babcock give him more of a shot.

Which begs the question,why dress someone you don't intend on playing?

Put in Meech with younger legs,and can play forward if needed.

[Mike 0]

Didn't Cheli get benched in the playoffs last season too?

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Which begs the question,why dress someone you don't intend on playing?

Put in Meech with younger legs,and can play forward if needed.

I'd rather have Holmstrom lined up on defense than Meech.

Edited May 4, 2009 by GMRwings1983

[brett 1,029]

if im going to blame anyone for game 2 loss its chelios. he took a s*** penalty and the ducks scored on it. andddddddd he only played 7 mins which means the other 5 D had to pick up his mins making them more tired.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Of everything that might be a problem with Chelios only playing 7 minutes, conditioning shouldn't be on that list.

True, but timing is an issue too in terms of not being played.

[ComradeWasabi 109]

if im going to blame anyone for game 2 loss its chelios. he took a s*** penalty and the ducks scored on it. andddddddd he only played 7 mins which means the other 5 D had to pick up his mins making them more tired.

The penalty was his fault for being careless with his stick, BUT, the penalty kill is supposed to be able to kill a two-minute penalty (the Ducks are 3 for 7 on the PP in two games by the way, not good penalty killing). The seven minutes played is exactly what this thread is about: Babcock only played him seven minutes, Chelios would have liked to be out there a great deal more but he didn't get sent out.

[Wingfan24 0]

his passing is off and hes coming to an end did you also notice how many times he missed the net?

[SiLkK19 67]

I noticed something was up when I saw him chatting it up with Pang. Panger even had this awkward look on his face when the camera zoomed in on them. Then later in the period or the next period he was next to Conks.

He also looked REALLY disappointed after he took that penalty.

Edited May 4, 2009 by SiLkK19

[Gordie Howe hat trick 110]

his passing is off and hes coming to an end did you also notice how many times he missed the net?

That is Chelly's style, he intentionally misses the net to great the bounce off the boards near the goal for his forwards. He used to do it in Chicago too, and it worked there.

[webwing91 4]

I agree. Chelli made a couple mistakes (a couple weak passes and the some carelessness that resulted in the high sticking), but for the most part he was comfortable and solid. He made sound decisions and I certainly think he could have been played more than 7 minutes, esepecially in a triple OT game. Our guys being more fresh and not having to play as many minutes is a key in this game I believe. Also that bit about missing the net someone mentioned earlier, that is his style. He's tried to create opportunities by bouncing of the boards for years. But hey, Babcock knows what he is doing, certainly more than I, so who am I to question. I think ZDH should be back together again too, but I guess he has his reasons.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

It confuses me a bit as to dressing somebody in this situation but only playing them maybe 6-7 minutes a game. If that's the case, why not go with the younger legs in Derek Meech as the 6th d-man. I'm never going to be the coach though and Babcock has his reasons for doing things, so I dunno.

[Red Crazy 201]

If Rafi dosen't return for game three or four playing with 5 d-men will come back to haunt Babcock. The defense will be getting tired and maybe this is why our PK is not playing well. Cheli needs to play more in the first couple of periods if they want to sit him if the 3rd is close. If Babcock has no faith in him why is he dressing him? I think the only problem with Cheli is that he has not played enough this year and his timing is off. Sure he is 47 but he is probably in better shape then half of the Wings. Blame him for the OT loss????? Why? I seem to remember 2 goals the Ducks scored on the PP.

[NGKEIB 32]

I'm not sure if it's a question of conditioning, and like the above poster I would attribute it to rust. He didn't look that bad out there, and fine, he took a dumb penalty - a number of other players did too. I wouldn't mind him getting more ice-time - I'm not saying that he needs to play every 3rd shift, but 7:00 is too low in my opinion.

[jvxp 0]

Chelios has shown his age a great deal this year. He doesn't pass with authority, he gets caught with players behind him, he takes lazy/stupid penalties. If Rafalski was healthy, Chelios would be done. Love Cheli and we've had some great years, but its time to go. He isn't an asset anymore, he is a liability.

totally agree!! :thumbup:

[NGKEIB 32]

As is just playing 5 defenders...

[jvxp 0]

Other then the penalty today, he's had one bad giveaway, otherwise he's been physical and always makes the smart play, he has more to contribute, but we wont get to see it. This isnt the way Chelios should've gone out, but after the way Babs is treating him, I cant imagine a team being interested next year.

When and what game are you watching? Really, physical? God that is funny. He is a ***** out there. He never throws a hit.

[Guest lilja4mvp]

i swear to god...is this site filled with joke posters or something?

chelios is "physical"? yeah, when he's taking a dumb penalty maybe.

he "always makes the smart play"? this season he has almost always made the exact opposite of the smart play when he touches the puck. his decisions are terrible. what kind of delusional world do you people live in?