My initial thought was that I think Chelios can still play as he is known for keeping himself in great shape and had legendary conditioning. It's been a few years but he still looked like a capable AHL player in 09-10.
But then I read this:
Quote:
"Could I play eight or 10 minutes a night on a good team like the Wings? Maybe. But no. I always said it was going to be a physical thing why I couldn’t play, and towards the end of my career I couldn’t train because of my left knee. That’s what really limited me. I couldn’t do the heavy workload in the gym to get to the level I always was at. So basically, to answer your question, no, I couldn’t have kept playing.
“I don’t skate a whole lot. I’m on the ice pushing pucks and blowing whistles. When I do skate hard in practice, I feel it for the next day or two, but it goes away. For the Winter Classic [alumni event], I was thinking of skating, getting in shape, working real hard with [former Wings center] Kris Draper and his crew. But for me, it’s better just to do things that don’t hurt and get my conditioning. I’m not going to skate, because I think if I did, it would be killing me by the time the game rolls around.
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http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl--ch...233740518.html
Sounds like his body isn't willing.