Chris Chelios

On Tuesday, Chris Chelios will formally announce the end of his great NHL career.

Long time NHL defenseman Chris Chelios finally called it quits at a tender age of 48, and will join one of his former teams, the Detroit Red Wings, in a front office position.

Chelios played 26 seasons in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit, and the Atlanta Thrashers. A future Hall of Famer, Chelios appeared in the playoffs in 24 of his 26 seasons.

The Chicago, Illinois native contributed so much to the game on the ice, but he was also a big influence off the ice, teaching kids how to play the game.

Reports out of Detroit and Chicago relay that the 48-year-old defenseman is retiring.

Upon his retirement, Chelios will be joining the Detroit Red Wings front office staff.

Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland has had this idea in his mind for over a year. "I don't have a title for him, but he's going to do a little player development," Holland told the Detroit Free Press. "After '09 when I told him we weren't going to re-sign him, I told him to keep in touch. He called me in May and told me he was going to take me up on my offer."

When a player is asking for a large portion of the cap space, it's not hard to see why owners and general managers want to work the cap hit in a favorable way.

While there are players out there taking long term deals and making them top heavy, there is a line that shouldn't be crossed. Ilya Kovalchuk's deal with the New Jersey Devils was such the case.

It wasn't so much the amount of money that was involved per say.  It was the combination of the contract's total and the term it carried.  The deal was for $102 million over 17 years.

Ken Holland comes from a world where the TV announcers say, “He’d probably like to have that one back.”

He comes from a world where, when you make a mistake, they turn a red light on and 15,000 zealots with leather lungs might try to boo you out of the building.

It’s a world where you’re assailed with dozens of vulcanized rubber discs every night as the last line of defense. And when Holland played goalie for the Red Wings, he was often the only line of defense.

Every year there are players that come into the NHL that make an impact with their respective teams. Some come in hot and eventually burnout; while others have long and outstanding careers.

As with all things; the cycle of a professional hockey players career at some point must come to an end.

With this offseason there are many players that have already made it known that they will not be hitting the ice in a rink near you in the fall. Others are still pondering whether they will end their run.

You read the title to this story correctly.

The Atlanta Thrashers are calling up 48-year-old defenseman Chris Chelios from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.

Chelios, apparently going Reggie Dunlap (Slap Shot reference), has not played in the NHL since May 27, 2009, with the Detroit Red Wings against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Trade rumors are still flying around the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, but nothing has been substantiated yet.

With the injuries to defensemen Ed Jovanovski and Zbynek Michalek, the Phoenix Coyotes are desperately in need of a defenseman with NHL experience and you can not find a more experienced defenseman than Chris Chelios.

Phoenix Coyotes general manager Don Maloney has publicly shown interest in the veteran defenseman. He will head to San Antonio to see Chelios play this Friday. San Antonio is also the Coyotes AHL affiliate, so Maloney will get a good look at the players down there too.

Who would be better on the Blackhawks' blue line:

Brent Sopel or Chris Chelios?