Chelios' Return To Red Wings Completely Unimportant Right Now

I don't know when Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios is going to be back in the lineup, and frankly I don't care. The horrific events that occurred at his Cheli's Chili Bar Tuesday morning, the details of which are even worse than I imagined, render the question of his return to game play absolutely moot.

Employees Mark Barnard and Megan Soroka were brutally stabbed to death Tuesday morning by, police allege, a 17-year-old fired employee, Justin Blackshear, who had gone to the restaurant asking for his job back. Blackshear has an 18-year-old pregnant girlfriend, who herself was also fired from Cheli's.

According to police reports, Blackshear got into a fight with cook Barnard, stabbed him ten times, then lured Soroka to the scene, where he then stabbed her multiple times.

Soroka, it was revealed in the reports, had been speaking with Chelios via telephone just minutes before she was killed. She reportedly told her boss that Barnard was in a fight, and that she was going to "check on him."

So Chris Chelios was the last person to speak to Soroka before she was murdered.

Hockey is hardly important this morning to him, and for who knows how many more mornings going forward.

We at Motor City Sports Magazine sat on pins and needles all day Tuesday, because the IDs of the victims weren't released, and we know one of the female managers at Cheli's. Was she the one who was killed? It wasn't a very pleasant afternoon.

But the fact that Soroka was not our contact did not make this crime any less tragic, of course.

The week has been unkind in the world of sports. Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was slain in a drive-by shooting last Sunday.

Understandably, Red Wings management is giving Chelios however much time he needs before he chooses to rejoin the team. Currently he's helping police in their investigation.

Mark Barnard was 52. Megan Soroka was 49.

It's safe to say that Detroit doesn't exactly feel like Hockeytown to Chris Chelios right now. But in time it will again, most likely. The ice and pucks will someday be a welcome elixir for the 22-year NHL veteran.

There is a life to still lead, after all -- even if it's a drastically changed one.