Chicago Blackhawks: Don’t expect Ed Olczyk back in 2020-21

There is a possibility that the Chicago Blackhawks don’t have Ed Olczyk back next season.

The Chicago Blackhawks are well known for having one of the best broadcast teams in all of hockey. Pat Foley and Ed Olczyk are one of the best duos in the league for a lot of reasons. Foley’s excitement and enthusiasm for the team and game are well shown through his broadcasts and then Mr. O does some great color commentary to complement the game that Pat describes. Olczyk is especially good at his job and that is why he is the leading color commentator for NHL on NBC as well.

There is a chance, however, that he is not back in that position next year. He probably won’t be done in that seat forever as he can get it whenever he wants it back but something else might be in his future. Nothing is set in stone or anything but there are a whole lot of rumors about hockey ops jobs that are available to him to take a look at.

He has been an NHL coach in the past and there are also rumors of him being involved in a couple of other general manager positions. Selfishly, it would be nice for him to stay with the Hawks as a broadcaster but he is certainly deserving of a much higher position with an organization. The Hawks could even use him as a general manager right now as the man currently in that seat isn’t doing all that good of a job.

Eddie famously had cancer a couple of years ago and has been treated for it. It isn’t fun to think about those scary times but he has made it through healthy and is back doing his job full time. It seems like he is ready to take a role with another NHL team and take a chance here. Don’t be all that surprised if he leaves the booth to pursue another opportunity at some point this offseason. There are plenty of reliable sources that have fed that information.