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Chris Chelios(notes), the longest-tenured defenseman in NHL history, is finally hanging up his skates.

After 26 NHL seasons and three Stanley Cups, Chelios announced his retirement Tuesday at the age of 48.

“I guess I’ve been dreading this day for a long time,” he said at a news conference in Detroit.

Chelios, who won three Norris Trophies during a career that included stops in Montreal, Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta, will become an adviser with the Red Wings. His new job will include working with Detroit’s front office and coaching staffs while helping to develop and mentor young players.

In NHL history, only Hall of Famer Gordie Howe was older than Chelios when he played, skating at 52 for the Hartford Whalers during the 1979-80 season almost a decade after leaving the Red Wings.

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On the first day of the NHL's research and development camp, hockey certainly looked different. But there's no reason for fans to expect any drastic change to the game.

There wasn't exactly a flood of support for having just one faceoff dot in the centre of the offensive zone or starting play with the puck already on the ice and the referee blowing his whistle.

Instead, some of the more subtle changes seemed to appeal to the general managers in attendance at the Toronto Maple Leafs practice facility.

Chief among them is a hybrid icing rule that is designed to reduce dangerous collisions resulting from a race for the puck. The proposed change gives linesmen the ability to make a ruling on whether a play will be called icing based on which player reaches the faceoff dot first -- rather than who is first to touch the puck.

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-- Using 3-on-3 and 2-on-2 in overtime.

-- Altering the ice surface to have three faceoff dots, one in each zone, down the centre of the rink.

-- Placing red mesh in the nets rather than white to give shooters a better look at openings.

-- Having the puck already on the ice for a faceoff, which is started by a whistle rather than the traditional puck drop.

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Forbes is reporting that owner Tom Hicks is close to selling the Dallas stars and his 50 percent interest in the Stars home arena, the American Airlines Centre for nearly $300 million.

Hicks, who recently sold his interest in Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers also owns half of English Premier League giants Liverpool, bought the Stars for $84 million in 1996.

Forbes infers that the sale means that creditors of the Hicks Sports Group wil recoup at least a portion of the $200 million that they are owed in addition to what they earned from the recent sale of the Rangers.

Forbes also suggests that the sale bodes well for the sale of other NHL franchises in southern, non-traditional American markets such as Atlanta, Nashville and most notably the Phoenix Coyotes whose struggles with ownership have dragged out over two years.

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