FanHouse ChrisChelios

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the deepest offensive teams in the NHL. Unfortunately for them, they don't boast similar defensive depth. Instead, they tend to lean on their puck possession and scoring to mask some flaws along the blue line and in goal.

As a result, news that veteran puck-moving defenseman Brian Rafalski will miss Game 1 of the Wings' Western Conference semifinal series against Anaheim is not good. It's not a death blow -- as an injury to Nicklas Lidstrom would be -- but it's not a good way for Detroit to start this series.

In 2000, I had a chance to interview Doug Risebrough on a radio show I hosted in Duluth, Minn. It was an interesting conversation, and it was a bit of an education. Frankly, I didn't know a lot about hockey then, and I certainly didn't know a thing about building an expansion franchise from the ground up.

Nearly nine years later, Risebrough finds himself unemployed, fired as Minnesota Wild president and general manager by club owner Craig Leipold. While I was shocked by the move, it was one that I knew needed to happen. Given multiple chances at redemption, Risebrough could only destroy his chance of returning.

I've been in media scrums before, but I have to admit I haven't been in many as intense as the one I walked into at Wrigley Field while attending the 2009 NHL Winter Classic. Press is here from all over North America, which means space was at a premium today, something that's easy to tell from watching this clip I put together featuring Marian Hossa, Henrik Zetterberg, Chris Chelios and Brian Rafalski. While the first three players all talk about how great it is to play in the Classic, Rafalski strikes a different note when it comes to his concern for ice conditions.

The Grand Rapids Press' Michael Zuidema reports that 46-year-old Detroit Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios will play two games for the Grand Rapids Griffins this weekend as he seeks to return to game shape after recovering from a broken leg suffered during the pre-season on September 30th. Under the Section 13 of the collective bargaining agreement, he does not have to clear waivers to play in GR for a conditioning stint.

It will be Chelios' first ever appearance in the AHL and, aside from an stretch during the Lockout over which he played in the UHL, it will be his first stint in a league below the NHL since 1983, his last year at the University of Wisconsin. He will join the Griffins in their home matchups with the Toronto Marlies (Friday) and Hamilton Bulldogs (Saturday).

Chelios has not bee completely idle since the injury, having done off-ice workouts from the start and begun on-ice workouts some time ago. He participated in his first full practice with the team yesterday. Given his workout history, it's doubtful his return to game shape will take long.

According to Zuidema, Chelios will likely return to Detroit after the game against Hamilton and may be acitivated in time to appear in the December 10th home game against the Calgary Flames. For that to happen, though, the Wings will have to jump through some cap hoops since they are right up against it. Darren McCarty will be the likely odd man out, though if I read the inpenetrable legalese of the CBA correctly, he'll have to clear waivers again. He was already sent down for a game after the last time he cleared. That shouldn't be much of a problem, though, since he's currently out with a groin injury (not on the IR as far as I know).

I'll be at the game Saturday with my wife. We're definitely looking forward to seeing Chelios on the blueline there, though not to the Hannah Montana Night part.

We all got a big laugh about a week ago when during the festivities for the opening of the NHL regular season in North America, Joe Elliot, the lead singer for the classic rock dinosaur Def Leppard, took hold of the Stanley Cup and proceeded to place it on a pedestal upside down:



While it was happening, I'm sure more than a few folks thought that Elliot couldn't be that stupid. And, as it turns out, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios is one of those people. Here's what he said on WCSX-FM in Detroit on the JJ&Lynne program, which we picked up via the Detroit Free Press:

All the right people showed up yesterday in Oakland, Michigan for the Illitch Celebrity Golf Classic. Among the attendees: Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Bill Laimbeer and Al Kaline.

But it's important to remember that whenever Red Wing Defenseman Chris Chelios is involved, it usually means that a boatload of his buddies from Malibu are going to show up too.

In this case, that meant John Cusack, Tim Allen, Dave Coulier, Thorsten Kaye, John McGinley and D.B. Sweeney were all on hand. One other familiar face who showed up, but didn't play, was Chelios buddy and Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding, Jr., who spoke with Ken Bradley of Sporting News Today:

"I play hockey, all kinds of other stuff, but no golfing," Gooding joked. "We have this great pickup (game) every Monday night in Los Angeles that is sponsored by CAA and Pat Brisson specifically -- he handles Sidney Crosby. I skated with Wayne Gretzky ... even skating with Chris Chelios I got a proper elbow to the head. It was awesome, just awesome to be out there."

I love hockey news in the Summer. Instead of breaking down the left wing lock we get to trawl in the nation's gossip pages. And this morning, we get to hang in that wonderful sweet spot where hockey, surfing and the world of popular music collide.

In this morning's edition of the New York Daily News, gossip columnists Rush & Molloy pass along news of how noted Red Wings fan Kid Rock crashed a party at uber-surfer Laird Hamilton's place in Malibu. Apparently, a group of unnamed Detroit Red Wings were at Hamilton's compound with Lord Stanley in tow when ... we'll let the gossip mongers take it from here:

Surfing star Laird Hamilton didn't seem to mind that Kid showed up at Hamilton's Malibu beach house with a retinue of leggy, cleavage-bearing, slightly-past-their-prime party favors. But Hamilton's wife, Olympic volleyball champ Gabrielle Reece, did not appreciate the uninvited guests.

"These ladies were skanky," our spy observes. "Gabrielle didn't say anything but you could tell she was fuming."

So how much credence should we place in this report? Well, Hamilton and Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios are old friends. Back during the lockout, there was even talk that the two would drop hockey and surfing for a while in an attempt to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin representing Greece in the 4-man bobsled.

As for the rest of the Wings, they apparently forgot the Cup on the beach for a while, where the report says some folks mistook it for an ashtray. Given the colorful history of the Cup, color me unconcerned.

Thanks to J.P. for the pointer.

As I was watching Chris Chelios skating the Stanley Cup around the ice at Mellon Arena last night, I couldn't help but wonder: Was this the last we'd see of the 46-year old defenseman? After playing in 15 of Detroit's first 16 playoff games, Chelios was injured at the tail end of the Western Conference Finals with Dallas, and was a healthy scratch for all six games against Pittsburgh.

Well, wonder no more.

Bruce MacLeod, the hockey beat writer for the Macomb Daily, reports that the Detroit Red Wings will formally shuffle their second, third, and fourth lines for tonight's Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. The top line, composed of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Tomas Holmstrom, will remain unchanged.

The main move is the promotion of Jiri Hudler from the fourth line to the second, where he spent much of Game 5. He'll skate on Valtteri Filppula's wing with Dan Cleary.

With 13 points, the diminutive Czech is Detroit's fourth-leading playoff scorer despite averaging just 10:58 in ice time troughout the postseason. He scored the only Detroit goal in Game 5.

Hudler has long produced consistently at a rate out of proportion to his ice time, but has had trouble gaining a second line spot on a deep Detroit squad. He has a bit of a reputation of having a poor work ethic and is considered to be among the weakest Detroit forwards in his own end. The first charge is largely unfounded, as Hudler generally shows a lot of hustle. There's something to the second charge, but he has made enormous strides since hitting the NHL. Apparently, not enough, as his continued relegation to fourth line purgatory indicates.

As a consolation, head coach Mike Babcock lets him out of the doghouse long enough to quarterback the second power play unit. He has matched Zetterberg's power play production this post-season.