For nine years, Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios was one of the most
beloved players in Chicago Blackhawks history. He quickly fell out of favor
with Blackhawks fans shortly after moving on to play with the rival Detroit Red
 Wings. Nearly 20 years after being traded to the Motor City, Chelios is back
with the Blackhawks organization.Two Legends are Traded for Each Other

Long before trading P.K. Subban for Shea Weber, the Montreal Canadiens made a
huge trade with the Blackhawks on June 29, 1990. The Habs sent a then
28-year-old Chelios and a second-round draft pick (Michael Pomichter) to
Chicago for fan favorite Denis Savard. This was a rare trade that involved two
popular and established stars being dealt for each other.

Savard had seven seasons of at least 32 goals already under his belt and was
the dynamic center the Canadiens were looking for. However, his final two
seasons in Chicago were marred by injury which caused a major dip in
production. He scored a combined 50 goals during the 1988-89 and 1989-90
seasons while missing a total of 42 games.Chris Chelios of the Montreal
Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)

Chelios had established himself as one of the top defensemen in the game by the
 time he was traded to his hometown. He won the first of three Norris Trophies
in 1989, played in one All-Star Game and was a key contributor to the
Canadiens' 1986 Stanley Cup win. Much like Savard, Chelios missed 27 games due
to injury during his final year in Montreal.

Even though Chelios had been a major factor in two runs to the Stanley Cup
Final in Montreal, the Habs were ready to move on. Upper management did not
feel that he fit the mold of the Canadiens tradition. In fact, Chelios and
future defensive partner Gary Suter were arrested in Madison, WI for getting
into a fight with police less than 48 hours after the trade was made with the
Blackhawks. The off-ice issues did not scare off the Blackhawks and they reaped
 the rewards for the next nine seasons.Blackhawks Win Trade With Canadiens

There is no doubt that the Blackhawks got the better end of the
Chelios-for-Savard trade. Savard had a productive three-year stint with the
Canadiens, including 72 goals and 179 points in 210 games, but he was far from
the elite goalscorer he was prior to his arrival. He had five assists during
the Canadiens'; 1993 run to their 24th Stanley Cup win in franchise history. He
 signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1993 and was traded back to the
Blackhawks for a sixth-round pick during the 1994-95 season. Savard played two
more seasons with the Blackhawks and Chelios before retiring in 1997.

Meanwhile, Chelios wasted no time endearing himself in the Windy City. He was
the first homegrown star the Blackhawks had and he personified the blue-collar
image of Chicago. Not only was he one of the best all-around defensemen in the
game, but he was also one of the toughest players to ever put on the iconic
Blackhawks sweater.

Now there's a sight for #Blackhawks Convention goers. #BHC2018
pic.twitter.com/fDE4WSCnCz

- Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) July 27, 2018

While Savard was not living up to expectations in Montreal, Chelios was
exceeding them in Chicago. He picked up 55 assists in his first season with the
 Blackhawks and had a huge role in the Blackhawks 1992 run to the Stanley Cup
Final, their first Final appearance since 1973. He had six goals, 21 points and
 was a plus-19 during that magical spring. The following season, he went on to
win his first of two Norris Trophies while playing for the Blackhawks.

In 1995, Chelios closed out the Vancouver Canucks season and the Pacific
Coliseum with overtime goals in back-to-back playoff games.

The 1995-96 season saw the Blackhawks lose in six games to the Colorado
Avalanche in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The memorable series
 featured seven periods of overtime as the Blackhawks pushed the eventual
Stanley Cup champs to the limit. That was the last great Blackhawks team for
well over a decade.Trades Bring the Dark Days

During the summer of 1996, the Blackhawks traded star Jeremy Roenick to the
Phoenix Coyotes for Alex Zhamnov, Craig Mills and a first-round pick that was
used to select Ty Jones. The following January, two-time Vezina Trophy-winning
goaltender Ed Belfour was shipped to the San Jose Sharks for Chris Terreri, Ulf
 Dahlen, and Michal Sykora.

With the team gutted because owner Bill Wirtz did not want to pay his top stars
 market value, the Blackhawks struggled mightily during the 1998-99 season and
the writing was on the wall that Chelios would be the next player on his way
out.(Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports)

"I want to stay in Chicago. I don't know how I can put it simpler," Chelios
told the Chicago Tribune in January 1999. "Things are going bad here, but I'm
not the type of player who is going to quit or ask to be traded. My heart is in
 Chicago and it's always going to be in Chicago."

According to his book Made In America, Chelios reached out to Wirtz's lawyer
about working out a contract extension to remain with the Blackhawks after his
contract expired following the 1999-2000 season. After weeks went by without a
response, the veteran defender demanded a trade out of Chicago.

On Mar. 23, 1999, the Blackhawks made one of the worst trades in franchise
history by shipping Chelios to Detroit for Anders Eriksson and first-round
picks in both 1999 and 2001. Eriksson played just 97 games for the Blackhawks
before being traded to the Florida Panthers for Jaroslav Spacek in November of
2000. The two draft picks turned into Steve McCarthy and Adam Munro, who
combined for 151 NHL games for the Blackhawks. Munro played in just 17 career
games; a pretty brutal return for a great player who proved to have plenty left
 in his tank.Veteran Leaders like Chris Chelios are Key to Detroit';s Success
(Dan4th: Wikipedia Commons)

Chelios went on to play in 578 games over the next decade in Detroit. His best
season came in 2001-02 when he had six goals, 39 points, and a plus-40 rating
while averaging over 25 minutes a game at age 40. He narrowly finished second
in Norris voting behind his teammate Niklas Lindstrom. He picked up 14 assists
during the 2002 postseason, which ended with a championship. Chelios got his
name engraved on the Stanley Cup for the third time in 2008.

At 47 years old, Chelios played in one final professional season in 2009-10
with the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League and seven NHL games with
the Atlanta Thrashers. He announced his retirement on Aug. 31, 2010, and was
hired by the Red Wings as an Adviser to Hockey Operations, with the role of
working with the team's defensive prospects in the AHL.Time Does Mend All
Wounds

During the 90s, whether it was the Chicago Stadium or United Center, the seats
were full of fans with the No.  7 on their backs. Once Chelios wore the hated
winged-wheel on his chest, the hometown fans quickly turned on him. It was not
easy to watch one of your favorite players lead your biggest rival to the glory
 you wish he had achieved with the Blackhawks.

There was a large contingent of the fanbase who could not get over seeing their
 hero in a Red Wings uniform. First off, he was traded long before everyone in
Chicago got a no-movement clause and he had no choice in where he ended up.
Sure, he re-signed with the Red Wings multiple times, but can you blame him? At
 that time, Detroit was the destination for veteran players to go in order to
win, much like the Blackhawks were from 2009 to 2015. Daniel Alfredsson,
Dominik Hasek, Marian Hossa, Brett Hull and even Mike Modano were among the
all-time greats who chased a Cup in the Motor City.

The grudge was not forgotten when Chelios was invited back to the United Center
 to be honored with a Heritage Night in December of 2010. The former Blackhawks
 captain took the United Center for the first time in 11 years and was welcomed
 by plenty of boos. "Come on guys, let bygones be bygones. Thank you for the
nine great years I spent here,'' he told the sell-out crowd when he got to the
microphone.

Late last month, Chelios announced that he was leaving the Red Wings
organization to move back to Chicago to be closer to his mother and family. The
 Blackhawks were quick to bring him back into the fold by naming him as an
Ambassador.

"To be able to join the Blackhawks organization in this role means everything
to me," Chelios said in an official statement. "I'm very thankful to Rocky
Wirtz and John McDonough for this opportunity to return to the Blackhawks.
Chicago is my hometown, and returning to this organization is very special to
me and my family."

Chelios took part in the recent Blackhawks convention and was greeted with a
very warm and raucous reception. I am sure that the reception will be even
greater when the Blackhawks retire the number seven in honor of both Chelios
and Brent Seabrook down the road.

The post Blackhawks & Chelios: Together Again appeared first on The Hockey
Writers.

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