Chelios returns home

TRAVERSE CITY, MI.- During the Saturday morning session of Detroit's development camp at Centre Ice Arena, an NHL Hall of Fame player returned to the Red Wings after a brief sabbatical.
Chris Chelios was back on the ice, barking out instructions to the Wings' eager prospects who were soaking up every word from one of hockey's greatest players.

Just a few weeks before development camp it was reported Chelios and the Red Wings had mutually parted ways because Chelios was exploring opportunities with the NHL Players Association (NHLPA).
"Basically, I took a leave of absence," Chelios said. "They call it a termination, which is kind of a harsh word. But I took a leave of absence so I could talk to the PA (players' association), talk to players and see if there's anything that (they) might be able to find something I might want to do.
"Not that I'm not happy, I love working with Blash (Jeff Blashill) and the Wings here. I just wanted to see, good players were reaching out to me so I had to resign so it wasn't a conflict. I don't know, the lawyers, mumbo jumbo, but anyway, I've done that, now I'm back with the Wings.
"Came up here (Traverse City) just as basically a volunteer, nothing's changed. I'm in the same position now with the Wings. There's still some other things I'm looking at, with the U.S. teams and stuff like that."
Over the years Chelios has taken a prevalent role in the players' association and his voice and leadership have had a powerful influence on the NHLPA.
He also has represented the USA on several occasions internationally, including four Olympic games, where he was the captain of Team USA in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Olympics.
So it comes as little surprise he's inquired about possibilities within the players' association and that he's also reached out to USA Hockey, especially with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) being in Plymouth, after relocating from Ann Arbor in 2015.
But despite his roaming nature and restless spirit, Chelios seems to always migrate back to Detroit, which looking at his NHL career before he became a Red Wing, appeared to be the most unlikely of destinations.
Drafted in the second round, 40th overall, by Montreal in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, Chelios quickly established himself as an abrasive player who played for keeps. The true definition of a player you hate but wish was on your team.
He was dealt to his hometown Chicago Blackhawks in June of 1990 along with the Canadiens second-round pick from the 1991 draft for Denis Savard.
Once he hit the Windy City, his disdain for the Red Wings began to flourish. There was nothing wearing red and white that was safe when he was on the ice. He literally only saw red when he played against the Red Wings.
How deep was his scorn for the Wings? It was deep.
When Chelios won his third and last Norris Trophy in 1996, he was asked what he thought about Colorado winning the Stanley Cup.
Without hesitation, he told the assembled media in Toronto that night, "As long as it wasn't Detroit, anybody but Detroit."
Then the unimaginable happened almost three years later. On March 23, 1999, the Red Wings acquired Chelios for Anders Eriksson and two first-round picks in 1999 and 2001.
It took everyone a few days to let it sink in that Detroit's archnemesis was going to be a Red Wing.
For his part, Chelios was looking for a way out of Chicago. The organization had him beginning to believe he couldn't play anymore and even though he had been their captain since 1995, a change of area codes from 312 to 313 was something he embraced.
As soon as he arrived in Detroit he fit right in with the Wings' core of veteran players. He told everyone he was a big fan of Greektown over the years and during his first practice as a Wing he took a run at Sergei Fedorov because "old habits die hard."
It could not have turned out better for Chelios and the Wings. He won two Cups in his ten seasons in Detroit, he was partnered with and mentored a young and promising defenseman named Jiri Fischer; his presence and guidance had a positive impact on all his teammates.
"It's hard to believe it's been almost 18 years I've been here. Again, it could have been a disaster 'cause the fallout I had in Chicago and the fans, being my hometown," Chelios said. "But I always said winning the Cup here, being part of the Red Wings kind of got me into that family, that history, that run we went on.
"For my family, I raised all my kids in Detroit. They're born in Chicago and they still have their ties there, too. But, for something to happen with me, really lucky the way it worked out. I have only the Ilitches and the Wirtz family to thank for what they've done for me."
Someday you're going to read Chelios is off on a new adventure, but adventures come and go, they never last.
What never changes is where you feel at home and for Chelios, a Chicago boy, Detroit is now his home, which may say more about how similar Detroiters and Chicagoans really are, though neither city would ever admit it.
But Chelios is living proof, he is as Detroit as anybody