With NHL training camps set to open in less than a month, veteran NHL defenceman Chris Chelios still does not have a team to continue his career. Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson, who doubles as the head coach of the United States men’s Olympic hockey team, relayed a story on Monday that the 47-year-old Chelios inquired about the possibility joining the Leafs.

Wilson said that Chelios asked the Leafs coach if “you guys have room in Toronto. I know an American coach would like an American defenceman. You even get this feeling that he thinks he can play with this team. He still wants to play.”

Wilson is a big believer in mentoring and that is Chelios’s role as special assistant with the U.S. team as it prepares for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

“If he doesn’t play this year, I would like him to be like Joe Nieuwendyk was for me last year [with the Maple Leafs] – a veteran that they all greatly respect,” Wilson said. “You can make the argument that he is the greatest American player of all time.

“I want him to talk to the [U.S.] players and get them all fired up and to share his experiences.”


REBUILD! :-DD