(670 The Score) An emotional Eddie Olczyk thanked the Blackhawks organization, fans and Chicago on Wednesday morning, two days after he informed franchise brass that he was declining a contract offer to remain its television analyst, a position he’d held since 2006.
A beloved figure in Chicago, Olczyk will join the Seattle Kraken’s broadcast team next after contract negotiations broke down with the Blackhawks.
“This was my decision,” Olczyk said on the Mully & Haugh Show. “There was a contract on the table. I just felt at this particular time that it was best for me to step away and explore other opportunities. Look, I have my unbelievable gig with TNT doing one game a week. But look, a lot of factors go in to making a decision. It takes two sides to make a deal, obviously. But at the end of the day, it was my decision. And I’m very much at peace with my decision.
“It’s been an unbelievable run. I could not be more proud of the last 16 years, sitting next to the great Pat Foley for 14 of those, seeing this franchise really come from nowhere. That’s the leadership of the late Mr. Wirtz, Bill Wirtz, and obviously now with Rocky and now Danny being front and center for the Blackhawks. It was a dream come true, it really was. It was a real hard conversation to have with Rocky on Monday.
“I just feel like right now, it’s the best thing for me. I just want to thank the incredible Blackhawks fans for supporting me through some of my most difficult times. It’s hard to believe I’m going on five years since I was diagnosed with stage-3 colon cancer. Knock on wood, I’m clean and clear.
“Lots of factors go into making a decision like this. Certainly, my family was a big part of this and some of my closest friends and people in my life. At the end of the day, I would never change anything that’s happened to me representing this franchise. I will always feel I’m a part of the franchise. I will die a Blackhawk.”
Olczyk, 55, admitted that he wished his contract matter had been worked out seven or eight months ago with the Blackhawks and explained that he personally took a leading role in negotiations so that he wouldn’t misinterpret anything through his agent.
“They did want me back,” Olczyk said. “They offered me a contract.
This is my decision, and there are many reasons why. And I said publicly and I gave my word to Rocky Wirtz and to Danny – I’m going to handle this the right way. This is me. My reputation is everything. I am not going to get into (specifics). Now if I have to defend myself at some point just because, OK, I will. But I said, look, it’s my decision. They wanted me back. I wanted to be back. But at the end of the day, I just took that step back.
“I love this franchise. This is my home. This is where I will be always. But at this particular time – it’s hard, it’s frustrating, people are probably like, ‘How does this happen?’ Look, I wish everything would’ve been taken care of seven or eight months ago. That’s what I was hoping, and it never happened. We got to this point. And when contract negotiations happened, things happened. You read, you feel, you see the room. I pushed my agent off to the side in order to do this deal, because I wanted to feel and see and hear what the hell was going on behind closed doors. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting third-person (information) and that I was able to make that decision, so I wasn’t blaming it on my agent, I wasn’t blaming it on any representative. I wanted to be the person in the room to be able to know what was going on. And then I calculated everything. Look, I am disappointed – 100%, I am. But I just felt this was best for both sides, for me to just take a step back.”
A Chicago native, Olczyk was drafted by the Blackhawks in 1984 and played five seasons for the team.
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