Rangers general manager Glen Sather recently offered Chris Chelios an AHL contract to play in Hartford, but the veteran free agent defenseman rejected that offer to sign a deal with the Chicago Wolves in order to be closer to his family, The Post has learned.
“We’d talked a number of times over the summer, and I talked to Torts [head coach John Tortorella] at the U.S. Olympic evaluation camp, but they told me the Rangers were going in a different direction with their kids,” Chelios told The Post by phone. “I see that their guys are off to a good start, but if they’re looking for veteran help down the road, I’d love to play there.
“I appreciate the offer to play in Hartford, but I decided to sign with Chicago because that’s where my parents live, and it means a lot to me that they’ll be able to come see me play.”
Sather, whose team lost 4-2 to the Devils last night at the Garden, confirmed the contract offer, but did not elaborate.
Chelios, who will celebrate his 48th birthday on Jan. 25, is scheduled to make his season debut tonight in Chicago against Manitoba. He has been a free agent since July 1, with the Red Wings making the decision not to bring him back for a 10th year in Detroit.
The three-time Norris Trophy winner played only 28 games last year after suffering a leg injury during the exhibition season. He dressed for six of the Red Wings’ 23 playoff matches.
The Rangers have only six defensemen on the roster, including freshmen Michael Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy. Veteran Alexei Semenov rejected the club’s contract offer after a training-camp tryout.
The AHL Wolf Pack signed former Montreal and Detroit free agent defenseman Mathieu Dandenault to a professional tryout contract on Wednesday, but the Rangers are likely to monitor Chelios as well as other veteran candidates for the seventh blue-line spot.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad game at Madison Square Garden,” said Chelios. “If the Rangers need help and are interested, Chicago shouldn’t be too far away for them to come take a look.”
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Tortorella once again cited Rangers’ propensity for taking penalties as his most serious concern. The Blueshirts entered last night’s match as the league’s second-most shorthanded team, with their per-game average of 5.4 just a pinch better than Carolina’s 5.5 per.
“I think our tempo has slipped a little bit, and that’s been caused by the number of penalties we’ve taken,” Tortorella said following the optional morning skate. “Tempo is a very important part of our game, but we lose the flow when we have to kill so many penalties.
“There are good penalties and bad penalties, and we’ve been taking too many bad ones; too many in the offensive zone. We have to understand what the standard of officiating is, and play. If you take one hand off your stick and go reach, it’s going to be called.
“It doesn’t matter to me whether we think it’s a penalty, it matters what the referees think is a penalty. In order for us to have the puck and apply pressure, it’s huge for us to stay out of the box to keep the flow.”