Back in June, Hockey Hall-of-Famer Chris Chelios was let go by ESPN as part of their talent cuts. He was part of the network’s NHL coverage for the past two years. Even though Chelios will be back in the studio this year as an analyst for NBC SportsChicago’s Blackhawks coverage, it was a move that definitely surprised him.
“I really enjoyed it. I was kind of surprised I didn’t get asked back, but it was a good experience and maybe it will open up some doors in Chicago for me,” he said this week on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. “I really did enjoy the time I had with them for that two years. I got more and more comfortable as we went on. You hate getting traded, you hate getting fired. I didn’t like it too much that I was released.”
If there was one thing that Chelios found tough about the position, it was being critical of the players. He felt that he was in the studio with Mark Messier and Steve Levy or calling a game that he was fair with criticism and no criticism ever got personal with any player.
“For me, it was real tough to be critical on players, but I like to think I just call it like I see it. If a guy has a bad game, he has a bad game. It never got personal with me with any of the players.”
At the same time, Chelios enjoyed the ESPN experience because it allowed him to keep his name out there in the NHL world and be around some great people.
“I loved working with Messier and Levy and those guys. It was a way to stay relevant, not to me that was real important, but it was great being around the guys again.”
In addition to getting to do some analyst work for Blackhawks coverage this year Chelios will also have his jersey retired by the team on February 25 when Chicago takes on one of his former teams, the Detroit Red Wings.
