Eddie Olczyk wants to set the record straight on his exit from the Blackhawk’s television booth.
“This was my decision. There was a contract on the table,” Olcyzk told Mully & Haugh during 670 The Scores’ 30th Anniversary Celebration Wednesday. “I just felt at this particular time, it was best for me to just step away and explore other opportunities. I have my unbelievable gig with TNT doing one game a week. It takes two sides to make a deal..I’m very much at peace with my decision.”
Olcyzk, who has served as the Blackhawks color commentator for 16 seasons, worked with play-by-play announcer Pat Foley to form the 5th best local broadcast crew in the NHL, according to readers of The Athletic in their 2021 survey.
Later in Olcyzk’s appearance, David Haugh tried to reiterate how he felt about the decision the Blackhawks made in not re-signing their former goalie.
“The last 10 minutes were a great example of how the Blackhawks made such a colossal error in judgment here,” he declared. “Because, I respect the way you’ve handled this with the grace you’re displaying is an example for everybody, but you just explained the rebuild. You summarized what they’re doing. And nobody is going to be able to do that as well as you just did that. And having that on a nightly basis is a value to the team…”
Haugh isn’t the first 670 The Score host to rip the Blackhawks over Olczyk’s exit. On Monday, Matt Spiegel said the franchise should be embarrassed for letting Olczyk go. But again, Eddie Olczyk wanted Haugh and Score listeners to know that isn’t what happened.
“They did want me back,” Olcyzk interrupted. “They offered me a contract. This is my decision…I gave my word to Rocky Wirtz, and to Danny (Wirtz, Blackhawks CEO) I would handle this the right way. My reputation is everything to me. I’m not going to get into…I’m not going to do that. I wanted to be back, but at the end of the day, I just took that step back.”
Olcyzk, who fought back tears at times while discussing the move, is reportedly set to join the Seattle Kraken’s television broadcast team for ROOT Sports. Olcyzk’s younger brother, Rick, is the Assistant General Manager for the Kraken.
