cool story
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DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios recalled running into Todd Bertuzzi at a restaurant in Detroit's Greektown last season, after another hard-hitting game between the bitter adversaries.

They made eye contact and scowled at each other. Then, Bertuzzi walked up to Chelios and shook his hand.

"We both kind of laughed,'' Chelios said. "What happens on the ice doesn't carry on off the ice.''

Their feud, which reached epic proportions during the Red Wings' first-round playoff series against Vancouver in 2002, is on hiatus. They're teammates now, and they'll be watching each other's back when Bertuzzi returns from his back injury in two-to-three weeks.

They even bonded a bit Thursday night, following Bertuzzi's first practice with the Wings, as Chelios and several teammates planned on taking the big power forward and the club's other new addition, Kyle Calder, to dinner.

"I can't wait to see him play for us,'' Chelios said. "It's a great addition to our team.''

Chelios is glad Bertuzzi didn't wind up on a team the Wings might face in the playoffs. He had his fill of the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder in that 2002 series, when Chelios, in the heat of battle, often called Bertuzzi "fat.'' It was never personal, though, he said.

"I cheap-shotted him, he cheap-shotted me; unfortunately, he's about 40 pounds heavier than me and I felt it more,'' Chelios said. "I remember the one where I got my head bounced off the glass and cut my nose.''

Chelios is no stranger to reconciliation stories. His disdain for Wings tough guy Bob Probert in the early '90s turned into a close friendship after Probert signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1994 and, a week before training camp, pulled into Chelios' driveway to say hello.

"I don't think there's a guy, aside from (former NHL player) Dale Hunter, that I couldn't stand more than Probie -- we hated each other,'' Chelios said. "But, as soon as he came to Chicago we became best friends, and that's usually how it goes.''