Bob Duff

DETROIT - How old is Chris Chelios?

Old enough that the last time the Pittsburgh Penguins played in the Stanley Cup finals, 16 years ago against the Chicago Blackhawks, Chelios, then an eight-season National Hockey League veteran, was in the opposing lineup.

As he will be this spring.

At 46, he’s no spring chicken and isn’t the same player who three times was a Norris Trophy-winning defender, but Chelios is still a medical marvel, going strong and playing a regular shift in the third defense pairing for the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings, who open the best-of-seven Stanley Cup finals Saturday against the Eastern Conference champion Penguins on home ice at Joe Louis Arena.

"A genetic freak," is how Red Wings vice-president and longtime captain Steve Yzerman, three years Chelios’ junior and two seasons removed from his own playing days, describes his former teammate.

How old is Chelios?

Old enough that his son Dean attended Detroit’s prospects camp last spring.

Old enough that his cell phone ring tone is the theme from the Godfather, Oscar winner for the best picture in 1972.

Old enough to hold a Stanley Cup record of 16 years between his two titles — with the Montreal Canadiens (1985-86) and Detroit (2001-02).

Old enough to have won that first Cup one year before Sidney Crosby was born.

Old enough to be the oldest player in the history the of the Cup finals when he takes the ice against the Pens, shattering the mark held by New York Rangers coach Lester Patrick, who was 44 when he made a pinch-hit appearance in goal for the Rangers during the 1928 finals against the Montreal Maroons.

Old enough to skate in the NHL through seven Presidential administrations, with an eighth ready to welcome him midway through next season. Some members of Congress don’t even last that long.

New York Rangers forward Jaromir Jagr reminisces about how he carried a photograph of President Ronald Reagan with him while growing up behind the Iron Curtain in the former Czechoslovakia. Chelios reminisces about breaking into the big leagues during Reagan’s first term.

How old is Chelios?

Old enough that the older players in the league still look up to him as a father figure.

"It’s really nice to have a friend like that, a guy you can look up to, but still try to kick the crap out of when you’re playing against him," said San Jose Sharks forward Jeremy Roenick, 38, who first played in the NHL with Chicago in 1988-89, two seasons before Chelios arrived with the Blackhawks after being traded there from Montreal. "He means everything to me. He’s actually one of the greatest friends I’ve ever met in this game and out of this game. He and I are very close. He’s meant a lot to me in terms of a mentor, sort of a fatherly, big brotherly thing. I can say fatherly because he’s almost 60 now."

When Anaheim Ducks defenseman Mathieu Schneider, 38, broke into the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens in 1987-88, Chelios was his teammate — just as Chelios was in Detroit. "I’ve always said he’s been a role model of mine since I’ve been a kid," Schneider said. "I came in and played with him my first year in the NHL. It’s just amazing. I think everyone marvels at what he’s able to do. To be such a tremendous player in this league for so many years, it’s amazing and for me, it inspires me. I want to keep playing and he’s kind of paved the way for a lot of older players who want to keep playing. You kind of look at him and say, ‘I can do it as well.’"

How old is Chelios?

Old enough to have played more playoff games than anyone in history, with 260 to his credit. Chelios moved past Patrick Roy (247) to become the all-time leader in playoff games played when he took the ice for Game 2 of Detroit’s first-round series against the Nashville Predators at Joe Louis Arena.

"I never kept track of individual things I've done, it's always been I'm more proud of the team stuff," Chelios said. "It's a pretty good accomplishment. My kids, my friends all think it's something great. "I'll look back someday and think it's a pretty big feat to accomplish."

Chelios, also playing in his record 23rd year of National Hockey League playoff action, offered a simple explanation for his longevity. "I don’t think I act my age," he said. "I still act like a kid, because I’m playing a game for a living. That’s the mentality that I have. I haven’t changed my love of the game since I started playing when I was a kid. When I do quit, it’s probably going to be something physical, not mental."

Chelios fondly remembers his playoff debut April 4, 1984 for the Montreal Canadiens against the Boston Bruins. "The first game was in Boston," he recalled. "The first goal of my career was against Pete Peeters. I remember it like it was yesterday. Just the excitement and the energy, especially being in the old (Boston) Garden. There’s nothing like playoff hockey."

Chelios (1986) is one of four players still active in professional hockey who won a Stanley Cup playing for the Canadiens, who’ve gone without a Cup since 1993, the longest drought in the history of a franchise with a record 24 Stanley Cups to their credit. Montreal defenseman Patrice Brisebois (1993), Minnesota Wild defenseman Sean Hill (1993) and Mike Keane (1993), who plays with the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose are the others.

"Starting out in Montreal was like getting a Harvard degree in hockey," he said.

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