So Close To 50

I've had a busy last few days, packing for and going to school. I will continue on the the Western Conference offseason recaps tomorrow night. By the way, if anyone is having a problem with the Twitter Gadget, just right click on the link and open it in a new tab. I'll try and figure out how to fix it. Also, the internet is really slow here and keeps going in and out, hopefully that doesn't affect me too much. In the meantime:

• Chris Chelios has finally retired after playing parts of 26 seasons in the NHL. At age 48, he ranks fourth all-time and first among defensemen with 1651 games played and will go down as one of the toughest, nastiest players to play the game. Since/when he first started playing
• The NHL has gone from 21 teams to 30
• Guy Lafleur and Mats Naslund were the leading scorers for the Canadiens
• Gilbert Perreault was still a dangerous player for the Sabres
• Wayne Gretzky was still beginning to captivate hockey fans
• Mario Lemieux was obliterating records with the Laval Voisins in the QMJHL
• The Islanders were still the powerhouse of the NHL, about to be overtaken by Edmonton
• Scotty Bowman still had four Stanley Cups to win
• Mario Lemieux, Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, Patrick Roy, Mike Richter, Brian Leetch, Pierre Turgeon, Branden Shanahan, Jeremy Roenick, Rob Blake, Tony Amonte, Pavel Bure, and Olie Kolzig among many others have all come and gone
• Nikolai Khabibulin will appeal his jail sentence from his DUI charge. For the moment, he will be allowed to attend training camp while the appeal process goes through. It is a shame but it just reminds us they are people and make mistakes too. Hopefully this won't put too much of a damper on his season, as he is looking to rebound after suffering a back injury and missing most of last season. The Oilers need him on the ice and playing well if they have any chance of getting out of the basement in the Western Conference. 
• The San Jose Sharks have finally nabbed the Stanley Cup caliber goalie they have been looking for as Antti Niemi signed a 1 year, $2 M contract today. It makes you wonder why he couldn't stay with the hawks as they had a similar offer for him. It goes to show that players these days, especially goalies, should probably take what they can get when its offered because that big payday they're looking for might not come. Along with Antero Niittymaki, the Sharks now have a solid 1a and 1b goaltending tandem.