Patrick Reusse: Nearly 30 years later, Chelios still holding his own

Scott Bjugstad scored 43 goals with 91 points as a senior center for the Gophers hockey team in 1982-83. Minnesota went 18-7-1 and captured the MacNaughton Cup as champion of the WCHA.

The archrivals of that moment were the Wisconsin Badgers. Two years earlier, the Gophers went to the Final Four in Duluth as favorites. They were whipped 6-3 by Bucky Badger in the title game.

"It already was a true rivalry, and the Badgers beating us in '81 really fueled it," Bjugstad said. "And then [Chris] Chelios came to Wisconsin the next year. He was nasty, miserable and a guy who was going to play to the end."

Wisconsin beat the Gophers in a WCHA total-goal playoff series in '82, before losing to North Dakota in the NCAA title game. Then, in '83, both the Gophers and the Badgers reached the Final Four in Grand Forks, N.D.

"We wanted a rematch of '81, but we lost to Harvard in the semis and Wisconsin won another title," Bjugstad said.

He offered a pained sigh and said: "Chelios. He wasn't only nasty on the ice. He was nasty with the fans between periods. If you were playing against that guy, you hated him."

A few months later, Bjugstad's opinion of Chelios took a 180-degree turn. They were teammates on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team in Sarajevo.

"And, I also found out that he's a good guy."

Really? "Oh, he's crazy, there's no doubt about that, but he also will do anything for a teammate," Bjugstad said.

Bjugstad played nine seasons in the NHL. He had 43 goals for the North Stars in 1985-86. His career ended in 1992. He runs a shooting school for youth, high school and college players from a facility at his home in Lake Elmo.

Chelios also went from the Olympic team to the NHL and his career ended ... not yet.

The Detroit defenseman is in his 25th NHL. He turned 47 on Jan. 25, making him the second-oldest player in league history behind Gordie Howe.

"We had a tough game [Anaheim] at home last night," Chelios said. "We came out and they were a step ahead of us. We let them get deep a couple of times, and it cost us."

Chelios missed the first 2 1/2 months of this season because of a broken tibia. He suffered the injury when he blocked a shot in the third period of a 2-1 exhibition loss at Montreal.

A quarter-century in the league and you break a shin bone getting in front of a slap shot in the third period of an exhibition. Bjugstad said "warrior," right?

Scotty Bowman was coaching the Red Wings in March 1999 when they made a deadline trade to acquire Chelios from Chicago. He was 37, and NHL wisdom said the three-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman was in decline.

"We thought we might be able to squeeze a couple of years out of him," Bowman said. "And now he's in the league 10 years later. ... He's a phenom, and the three main reasons for that are his fanatical offseason conditioning, his competitiveness and his intelligence about where he fits with a team.

Chelios was watching a replay on a computer in the trainer's room after Saturday's loss. Was he reviewing Nolan's first goal?

"Nah, that was my son Dean's game," Chelios said. "He plays for the Chicago Steel in the USHL. He's going to Michigan State next year. The Steel won, so the night wasn't a total loss for the Chelioses."