Chelios at Jersey Retirement Ceremony: "Patrick Kane Will Go Down as the Greatest American Born Player"
At his jersey retirement ceremony before tonight's game between the Red Wings and Blackhawks, Chris Chelios described Patrick Kane as the greatest American-born hockey player of all time
Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports - Chelios at Jersey Retirement Ceremony: "Patrick Kane Will Go Down as the Greatest American Born Player"Tonight is an unusual night in the history of the Red Wings-Blackhawks, a feud that dates all the way back to November 1926, when Detroit was the Cougars and Chicago was the Black Hawks.
This evening at a ceremony before tonight's game, the Blackhawks are retiring the number seven jersey of franchise icon and native Chicagoan Chris Chelios, who spent the final 10 seasons of his career with the Red Wings, where he won two Stanley Cups.
Meanwhile, the visiting Red Wings include two recent Blackhawk defections (albeit both with stops elsewhere en route to Detroit) in Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. With the utmost respect to DeBrincat (who already returned to Chicago as a Senator a year ago), it's Kane (who won three Cups of his own with the Blackhawks and who has yet to play at the United Center as a visitor) whose return is commanding the hockey world's attention.
Between Chelios' jersey retirement ceremony and Kane's return, this will undoubtedly be the most memorable night in the Original Six rivalry since the two teams met in the second round of the 2013 playoffs (which culminated in Chicago winning the Cup and Kane the Conn Smythe). The rivalry understandably fizzled after Detroit headed to the Eastern Conference the following season, an effect that only intensified as the two sides have stumbled through the back half of the 2010s and early days of the 2020s.
At his ceremony (which the Red Wings watched in sweats from the visitors' bench), Chelios made sure to give Kane an acknowledgement, while also weighing in on a longstanding debate amongst hockey fans by declaring that Kane "will go down as the greatest American-born player" of all time.
Of their shared history jumping sides of the rivalry, Chelios quipped, "That jersey looks kinda funny, Kaner, but it'll grow on ya. And don't worry, it'll work out in the end. You'll be standing here, same as me. Just be careful, don't go stealing my thunder today. I got money on the board to shut you down."
It's already been a memorable night in Chicago, and the puck has yet to drop.