Don't bet on Cheli retiring before 50http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=rm-chelios012008&prov=yhoo&type=lgnsSAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson describes Chris Chelios as what he pictures as the ultimate Greek hockey player: dance all night, chug a jug of wine and still be the first to the rink in the morning.
Dallas co-general manager Brett Hull says the only way the ageless Detroit defenseman leaves the game is if someone locks him in a box and carries him out of the arena. And he didn't mean it in any morbid sense, rather he knows the only way Chelios goes is while kicking and screaming.
Sharks forward Jeremy Roenick, a former teammate and close friend of Chelios, gets right to the point: "He's a freak of nature."
Definitely one of a kind, Chelios now sits No. 2 behind only Gordie Howe as the oldest player to appear in an NHL game. Chelios achieved that distinction earlier in the month, passing former Chicago emergency goalie Moe Roberts, and will turn 46 on Thursday.
Howe played until age 52 and six days, retiring from the NHL – for the second time – in 1980.
