Old Chelios Has a New Story?

Maybe something was lost in translation.

On Wednesday morning, Chris Chelios was a between-periods radio guest on the Grand Rapids station that was broadcasting the AHL Griffins' road game against the Toronto Marlies.

He told the announcers that his playing career was done and that he would be focusing his attention on the his job with the Red Wings and on his two sons who are playing college hockey at Michigan State. But that game was in Canada. Perhaps something in the transmission was scrambled as it crossed the border.

Because this morning, TSN.ca is reporting that Chelios is negotiating with Vityaz of the KHL in Russia. Note that Vityaz plays a game more suited to the Charlestown Chiefs of the Federal League or an LNAH team in Quebec (LNAH leaders in penalty minutes, or meneurs punitions, if you please), what with the likes of Chris Simon and Darsy Verot (in North America, he was/is Darcy) running up penalty minutes like kilowatt hours at an electronics store. Look at this list. Can you tell me how many Vityaz players are in the top 15 in penalty minutes?

Sense a trend? Hmm, where is the team in the overall standings? Twenty-third. How many teams in the KHL? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Chelios told the Grand Rapids announcers that he saw how limited his skills were after a stint last season with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL and, for a brief time, the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers.

So, a listener of that interview will have a hard time envisioning Chelios back on the ice as a player. Even he made it sound as if a pylon would be the only on-ice job he could handle these days. A look at some 2009 video proves Chelios could still make some hits with the Wolves, so we'll consider some of his words as a form of modesty.

In short, Chelios may not be done yet. Maybe a Cheli's Chili Bar is in the offing overseas. We shall see.