Chris Chelios Leaving Red Wings

Chris Chelios is leaving the Detroit Red Wings thanks in part to a possible opportunity with the NHLPA, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (video link).  Chelios was a part-time assistant coach, but with his contract ending, both parties chose to sever ties in light of Chelios’s new prospects.

Chelios has worked for the Red Wings organization since his retirement in 2010, and most recently as an assistant since 2015. Not a true assistant coach, Chelios adopted part-time duties to remain closer to his family. The former NHL defenseman had been linked to NHLPA positions before, and had his contract terminated early—it was set to expire at the end of this month—because of his involvement with player agents Rich Winter, Anton Thun and Kurt Overthardt on how to strengthen the union.

Dreger mentions that there may even be a role within the NHLPA for Chelios as an ombudsman, a position that does not report to the executive director, but rather to the 30 player representative board. The NHLPA created this position as part of a system of checks and balances against executive director impropriety, and to prevent an Alan Eagleson-esque situation.

Chelios cannot hold both a position with the Red Wings and be involved in this process because it would create serious conflicts of interest. The NHLPA serves to protect players’ interests in the face of managements’ transgressions, so employees cannot fully represent both sides of the coin.

The NHLPA has a history with Chelios. In 2006, Chelios, along with Trent Klatt and Dwayne Roloson, sued the NHLPA in U.S. Federal Court to remove then-current NHLPA executive director Ted Saskin. Saskin succeeded Bob Goodenow as NHLPA director during the 2004-05 NHL lockout, though Goodenow did not formally step down until two weeks later. The Court eventually dismissed the case because it should have been brought in Toronto, where the NHLPA was located.

Though he now isn’t part of the Red Wings organization, Dreger makes it clear that there is “no bad blood” between the two sides and that a reunion could be in order if it doesn’t work out with the NHLPA.