The Friday Flashback: Chris Chelios

By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 17, 2010 10:20PM

Tonight's game between the Blackhawks and Detroit at the United Center takes on an added air of pomp and circumstance, as the Blackhawks honor former defenseman Chris Chelios before the game.

The native son of Evergreen Park and one-time Mount Carmel student displayed an unrivaled grit and determination throughout his career to become one of the greatest modern hockey players we've ever seen, playing well into his forties, and a sure-fire Hall of Famer when his number is eventually called.

Blackhawks fans' love affair with Chelios was instant the from the moment he was traded from Montreal Canadiens with a second-round pick for Denis Savard. Chelios eventually teamed up with Steve Smith to make a formidable blue-line tandem, and Chelios a Norris Trophy winner. When the Blackhawks eventually started going with a youth movement in the late 90s that didn't pay dividends until they drafted Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews a decade later, Chelios accepted a trade to the hated Detroit Red Wings, whose colors he once said he'd never wear. The ridiculously deep Red Wings helped extend Chelios's career.

Seems fitting to show a Blackhawks-Red Wings scrum with Chelios and Red Wings antagonist Keith Primeau getting into it, eh?