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#8: Chris Chelios, by Andrew Saadalla

May 21, 2016, 10:16 AM ET [124 Comments]
Habs Talk
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My choice for the number 8 top-10 defenseman of all time is the infamous Chris Chelios. Chelios had not only a great career in Montreal but also managed to play the game at a high level until his retirement at the age of 48.

When he first joined the Habs in 1984, he was renowned for his offensive capabilities. That helped him land a spot on the All-Star team that season as he scored 64 points in 74 games and 10 points in 9 playoff games, narrowly missing out on the Calder Trophy awarded to the rookie of the year. In 1985-1986, he played in a total of 41 games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time thanks especially to goaltender Patrick Roy’s otherworldly heroics.

In 1988-1989, Chelios put up 73 points in 60 games and subsequently won the Norris Trophy that year, solidifying the win with a +35 plus-minus rating. That year, controversies would begin to surround him after a “dirty” hit on the Philadelphia Flyers’ Brian Propp during the (modern-day equivalent of) the Eastern Conference finals. Propp was seriously concussed, and Ron Hextall would be the one to retaliate against Chelios by skating out of his net and attacking the defenseman in an event that would lead to a 12-game suspension to Hextall.




In 1990, Chris Chelios would be traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in what is considered to be one of the worst trades in the history of the Montreal Canadiens. Pressure came from the owners and team president Ronald Corey forced general manager Serge Savard to trade Chelios after the latter’s reputation as a late-night party animal began to get a little out of hand. Reportedly, Chelios got into an altercation with police officers after attempting to publicly urinate on a wall, and that event would be the final straw with upper management. Savard did not necessarily want to trade away his best defenseman, and supposedly sabotaged the deal by picking up an aging and injured 29-year-old Denis Savard in exchange for Chelios and a 2nd-round draft pick. He’d go on to win the Norris Trophy twice in 1993 and in 1996 as a member of the Hawks.

He then joined the Detroit Red Wings at 37 years of age in a trade that included two first round draft picks. He would play an instrumental role in bringing home the Stanley Cup in 2002, breaking records and becoming the oldest defenseman in NHL history to score a shorthanded goal in the playoffs.

In 1,651 career games, Chelios scored 185 goals and 763 assists for a total of 948 points and a mind-blowing +350 plus-minus rating. He played in 26 seasons and is still the second-oldest player in the history of the NHL.


He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013, the first year in which he was eligible to do so.

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