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ATLANTA -- For the 1,286th time in his illustrious career -- at least that's our best guess -- NHL resident dinosaur Chris Chelios is holding a post-morning-skate media scrum about, well, the physical marvel that is Chris Chelios.
On this particular Thursday, the subject is his family and Chelios, hockey's resident greybeard at age 48, is practically beaming while talking about his four kids.
"You mean five kids, don't you?" interjects teammate Eric Boulton, sitting in the cubicle directly next to Chelios. "You're forgetting about Zach Bogosian."
Interesting. Do the Chelios children, sons Dean 20, Jake, 19, and daughters Caley, 16, and Tara, 14, even know they have a brother named Zach?
Boulton was joking, of course. Sort of.
While there are no common bloodlines between the two, Chelios has served as a mentor/father figure to Bogosian, 19, since being called up to the Thrashers several weeks ago.
In front of the cameras and microphones, Chelios seems energized by his role. In fact, whenever he is asked if this will be his final season, the veteran defenceman breaks into a playful smile and says: "I never say never."
Maybe not to reporters.
But is Chelios whispering a different tune behind closed doors?
Chelios did, in fact, tell a friend in privacy this week that this season "will be it."
Chelios still could change his mind. He has before. It's his prerogative.
And if anyone has earned the right to waffle on a retirement decision, it is Chris Chelios. He has paid his dues. And then some. For months. Years. Decades.
Let's put his longevity into perspective.
When Chelios was drafted in 1981:
a) Darryl Sittler was captain of the Maple Leafs.
b) Atlanta's NHL franchise, the Flames, had bolted to Calgary just one year earlier.
c) Bogosian, his so-called fifth child according to Eric Boulton, would not be born for another nine years.
When the Thrashers called up Chelios from their Chicago Wolves farm team after the Olympics, dad queried his kids for their opinion on what he should do. And, no, Bogosian was not part of their discussion.
"I left it up to them," Chelios said. "They seemed to like the fact their father was still playing.
"So far so good."
There are no more bumps and bruises on his body now then there were almost three decades ago, Chelios claims. With one major difference.
"Honestly, some mornings I felt this bad back when I was 21," Chelios said. "It just takes longer to heal now."
After sitting out the previous five games, Chelios was matched up with Bogosian on the Atlanta blue line for portions of the Thrashers-Leafs tilt at Philips Arena on Thursday night.
Introducing Chelly and The Kid.
Imagine a 29-year gap between defence partners. Remarkable.
"It's exciting to get the chance to play with him," said Bogosian, who scored his 10th goal of the season in the first period. "We've played the odd shift together but we've never been partners like this.
"I knew there was a chance that he might be called up when he was with Chicago. And when it happened, it was so cool to meet someone you've looked up to for a long time.
"I've learned a lot from him. Since he came, we've spent a lot of time together, going for dinners, working on the ice, things like that. It's been amazing."
Chelios is humble when it comes to talking about himself. There was a time when he looked to be the man to carry a team on his back. Now it seems he's just worried about not screwing up.
"For me now it's not at times about how much I can help the team, but trying not to hurt the team," a humble Chelios said.
Maybe this "will be it," as Chelios told his buddy. Maybe the curtain will indeed come down at the end of the season on one of pro hockey's most colourful personalities.
But not before he still has some fun -- and hopefully a playoff berth -- alongside Bogosian.
MIKE.ZEISBERGER@SUNMEDIA.CA