That day finally arrived on Tuesday for the 48-year-old defenceman, after 27 National Hockey League seasons.

After 1,651 career NHL games.

After 266 playoff games.

After three Stanley Cups.

And after three James Norris Trophies as the league’s top defenceman.

“I wanted to leave the game when I thought I had nothing left and there was nothing left in the tank. I think I’ve pretty much accomplished that after 27 years. There’s nothing left, I have no regrets,” Chelios said during a news conference in Detroit on Tuesday.The Chicago native scored 185 goals and 763 assists with the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and the Atlanta Thrashers during his career.

He’ll join the Red Wings’ front-office as an adviser to hockey operations.

“When I got into my 40s, everybody kept asking me ‘are you going to retire soon?’ I didn’t have an answer mostly because I didn’t want to quit and I was having so much fun playing with the Red Wings and winning Cups,” said Chelios. “I never thought it would end.”

Chelios holds the NHL record for most games played by a defenceman and ranks fourth overall. He is the only player in league history to play at least 400 games for three different teams, including 664 with Chicago, 578 with Detroit and 402 with Montreal.

He capped his playing career last season by playing 46 games with the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves and seven games with the Atlanta Thrashers.

Chelios won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1986, then earned rings with the Wings in 2002 and 2008.

“I told people I think I would have known when it was time to hang ‘em up. And I really believe I made the right decision to continue,” said Chelios. “I went on to win another Cup after 40. That team we won in 2002 with . . . what a team that was, what a lineup. It’s like the Yankees’ Murderer’s Row you compare it to when you looked at the names down that list.”

Chelios was Montreal’s second-round (40th overall) draft pick in the 1981 entry draft. He played two seasons with the University of Wisconsin and made his NHL debut on March 8, 1984.

Internationally, Chelios was a mainstay with the Hockey USA program, having donned red, white and blue at the 1984, 1998, 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. He also played for the U.S. at the world junior hockey championship (1982), three Canada Cups (1984, 1987 and 1991), and two World Cup of Hockey competitions(1996 and 2004).

“For the past 27 years I’ve been a member of the NHL, and I’ve always told people I never took it for granted, I appreciated the opportunity and never took it for granted one day of my whole career,” said Chelios. “I knew how lucky I was and how fortunate I was to be in the NHL and how many people try to live their dream like I have.

“Whether it’s opportunity, right place at the right time, a lot of luck involved, there are a lot of players, a lot of people who try to and get in professions that are just as good as the next person, but they never get the opportunity.

“I was fortunate enough that people saw something, believed in me and stuck with me. I got my break and it was a really fortunate break when I was 18, 19 years old to be able to pursue this career.”