Chelios talks Red Wings connection after Blackhawks retire his No. 7 jersey

CHICAGO – It was difficult for Chris Chelios to encapsulate his record-tying 26 NHL seasons on Sunday night, when the Chicago Blackhawks raised his No. 7 jersey to the United Center rafters, but the former defenseman made a point of highlighting his decade-long tenure (1999-2009) with the Detroit Red Wings.

“I should have thanked the Ilitch family,” Chelios said during a special pregame press conference following his jersey retirement ceremony. “When you’re up there, the mind is racing and there’s a few things I forgot. But I think the Ilitches know how much I appreciated my time there (in Detroit) and how great they were to me too.”

Chelios was originally selected 40th overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens before being traded to the Blackhawks on June 29, 1990. After nine seasons in Chicago, he was traded to Detroit on March 23, 1999. Chelios split his final season (2009-10) between the Atlanta Thrashers and Blackhawks’ AHL-affiliate Chicago Wolves.

An 11-time NHL All-Star, Chelios won the Stanley Cup championship with the Canadiens in 1986 before winning two Stanley Cups (2002, 2008) with the Red Wings. He is a three-time Norris Trophy winner and ranks ninth all-time with 1,651 NHL games played.

The 62-year-old remains thankful for his time in Detroit, especially because it extended his career.

“I was just a kid who wanted to keep playing,” Chelios said. “At the time Chicago traded me, they actually told me I should retire and work up in the offices, and I’m thinking, ‘I still might have a little left.’ I played 10 more years, but it’s all fun and games now.”

Chelios said he has several friends in Michigan and still shares close ties to the Red Wings’ front office, where he served a variety of roles from 2010-18 after his retirement.

“You know Stevie, he probably thinks he’s a distraction,” Chelios said about Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman. “He’s all business. We talk a lot. We’ve remained close friends. Mostly him and Drapes (Red Wings Assistant General Manager and Director of Amateur Scouting Kris Draper) are the two guys who I’ve spoken to the most throughout the years since I left, but nothing but the most respect for Yzie and (his wife) Lisa.”

A proud Chicago native, Chelios said seeing his jersey retired by the Blackhawks is an incredible part of his life story.

“The word that comes to mind is lucky,” Chelios said. “That’s all, plain and simple. There’s no rhyme or reason for where I came up, that path and that journey.”