Chelios: Players should police themselves

TORONTO -- Chris Chelios looked over in Brendan Shanahan's direction as he was answering a question that had to do with his thoughts on the game as it is played now as opposed to when he was in his prime.

"Because of the era I was in, I just think everybody is too sensitive," Chelios said, peering over at a smiling Shanahan midway through the Fan Forum at the Hall of Fame on Saturday. "I ask my kids all the time what they think of the game and they love it, but for me it's tough playing in the era I did. For me, the players should control what happens on the ice."

And then Chelios hit Shanahan, who runs the NHL's Department of Player Safety as a Senior Vice President, with this:

"I think Shanny is too involved," he said.

Shanahan laughed.

"I'll probably get fined when this is over," Chelios added.

Shanahan, naturally, was asked to respond.

"Yeah, the game has changed, it's definitely changed," he said. "We [the Department of Player Safety] would certainly like to be less involved."

But would Shanahan, who had more than 2,400 penalty minutes in his 22-year career, have played differently if he was playing now?

"No, I would have played the same way," he said, "and I would have been suspended."

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter: @drosennhl