Patrick Sharp and Troy Murray will break up duties as analysts for Chicago Blackhawks video games on NBC Sports Chicago subsequent season, the group introduced Thursday.
Both had been floated as candidates — Sharp specifically — as soon as longtime analyst Eddie Olczyk stunned the Hawks by rejecting a long-term supply to return to the sales space.
Sharp and Murray are former Hawks gamers who turned fan favorites on TV and radio, respectively.
“Pretty much this was a no-brainer,” Jaime Faulkner, Hawks president of enterprise operations, informed the Tribune.
“We wanted to be thoughtful about making the decision for putting together this whole team, and we’re really excited about this new broadcast team of commentators and analysts because they’re going to represent the future of Blackhawks broadcasting.”
Chris Vosters, Pat Boyle, John Wiedeman, Caley Chelios and Colby Cohen will return in numerous roles starting from sales space and studio work to radio and podcasting.
“Our broadcast team that we have in place — TV, radio and studio — combine for 1,400 NHL games played, so they know hockey,” Faulkner mentioned. “Sixty years of broadcast experience, so they know broadcasting really well. And you’ll see people across the different channels as well.”
The Hawks can pitch “team” all they need — nevertheless it’s no secret the marquee belongs to Sharp and Murray. And Faulkner acknowledged as a lot.
“As soon as the Eddie announcement was made, there was a lot of speculation coming from social (media) — who was going to replace him and who people wanted to have sit next to Chris Vosters, and also through conversations with our season ticket members and some of our in-person events,” Faulkner mentioned. “I believe individuals had been making loud and clear that they’d like to see Troy and/or Sharpie sitting subsequent to Chris.
“And we said, ’Well, great, we’ll give you those’ since we were already in conversations with them about doing work for us. Obviously Troy being with us anyway, it became a pretty easy no-brainer decision.”
Faulkner mentioned she had been in talks with Murray and Sharp as a result of — again when the Hawks believed that they had a long-term take care of Olczyk — the group was attempting to line up replacements for Olczyk when he was known as to cowl nationwide video games for TNT or horse racing for NBC.
Murray and Sharp could have a few 50-50 break up of dwelling and highway video games working with Vosters, who was named Pat Foley’s alternative as play-by-play man late final season.
Foley, Olczyk’s longtime associate, retired in April after serving because the Hawks play caller for 39 seasons. It’s no secret that even informal Hawks followers have grumbled concerning the lack of Foley and Olczyk in a single offseason.
“We wanted to make sure we brought in some familiar faces,” Faulkner mentioned of hiring Murray and Sharp.
She declined to reveal phrases of both’s settlement, “but we are hopeful that this is a long-term solution for us.”
For Sharp, the rent marks a return to televised hockey protection after a quick hiatus.
The three-time Stanley Cup winner was a full-time studio analyst for nationwide video games on “NHL on NBC” in the course of the 2019-20 season — however that got here to finish after NBC Sports pulled out of bidding for nationwide broadcast rights, which at the moment are carried on ESPN and Turner Sports’ TNT and TBS.
Last season Sharp labored as an adviser to the teaching workers at his alma mater, the University of Vermont.
Sharp’s first foray into NBC Sports Chicago’s Hawks protection got here as a pre- and postgame analyst in October 2018, a number of months after he retired as a participant.
Murray boasts an extended historical past of TV and radio expertise masking the Hawks, relationship to 1998, when he teamed with the late Chet Coppock as a studio analyst when Fox Sports Chicago hosted Hawks video games.
Murray later changed Dale Tallon within the sales space in November 2003, masking video games with Foley on Comcast SportsWeb and WSCR-AM till the Hawks ended simulcasting in May 2006. That July, Murray fashioned a radio partnership with Wiedeman, a brand new rent from the New York Islanders.
Murray introduced final August that he has most cancers and took a hiatus from radio work till December.
Faulkner mentioned Murray has been in good well being.
“We plan on Troy doing all of our games,” she mentioned.
Faulkner mentioned Sharp and/or Murray would possibly broadcast remotely every now and then: “If COVID (taught) us anything, it’s that technology is an incredible enabler.”
Sharp made his dwelling life an “important” a part of the negotiations, she mentioned.
“We wanted to make sure for both Troy with his health and Sharpie with his family (that we) put something in place that worked well for them personally and well for the broadcast team as well as our fans,” she mentioned.
The Hawks have to attend for the nationwide TV schedule to be finalized earlier than settling the main points of who will cowl every native broadcast.
Meanwhile, Faulkner plans to develop the Hawks’ involvement in podcasting, although she’s figuring out which broadcasters might be concerned in that blend and to what extent.
“When we think about broadcast, it’s our podcast, it’s TV, it’s radio, our partners with WGN (AM), Univision and NBCSN, and then obviously our own podcast that we run, so our fans will get to see this group across all those different channels.”
Here’s how duties break down on TV and radio.
Chris Vosters
He’ll function play-by-play announcer, presumably for the entire season. Faulkner mentioned he would possibly share the TV sales space with Murray and Sharp for the season opener, however that’s not a certainty.
Troy Murray
He’ll present TV shade commentary, identical to he already does on the radio and can proceed to do.
“I think Troy brings familiarity with our fan base,” Faulkner mentioned. “He’s best in class at what he does and absolutely an easy decision to move him into TV.”
Patrick Sharp
He’ll additionally shade commentary for TV.
”I believe Patrick was incredible in his nationwide work,” Faulkner mentioned. “He did a great job for us when he came on and covered some of our games. He brings a different perspective for our fans as well on Blackhawks hockey.”
Pat Boyle
He’ll return as studio host, which he has been since 2013.
Caley Chelios
Like final season, she may float between a number of roles.
“She was great on the radio last year, our fans loved her,” Faulkner mentioned. “When Troy’s on TV, she’ll for the most part back up Troy on the radio.”
Colby Cohen
The former Colorado Avalanche defenseman will resume his jack-of-all commerce duties, reporting in the course of the recreation’s “between the glass” segments and doing studio and podcast work.
John Wiedeman
Like a number of others, he had spot obligation in aid of Foley on TV, however he’ll return full time to radio.
A notable absence on the record is Jason Ross Jr., who turned the primary Black play-by-play announcer in Hawks historical past when he known as a recreation in Las Vegas on Jan. 8. Ross additionally crammed in for Weideman on the radio.
“The intent is for John to be in the seat most of the time,” Faulkner mentioned. “We will work on giving some people just a few reps just so we’ll be prepared just in case we hit COVID or something happens. And we’re still working out who that will be.”
Faulkner teased a brand new wrinkles that possible might be added to Hawks’ game-night protection.
Pregame, intermission and postgame reveals on TV may function a rotation of Blackhawks alumni — and never simply within the studio, the place Andrew Shaw usually was a visitor final season.
“Everybody is familiar with the success of the (Peyton and Eli) ‘ManningCasts,’ so in our mind, how great would it be to have a couple of our alumni at home sitting on their own couches commentating on the game,” Faulkner mentioned. “Not play-by-play, not a proper and conventional broadcast, however with the ability to present their viewpoint on gamers they know, what they see taking place in an actual entertaining and relaxed and enjoyable setting.
“Those are some of the things that we would like to try to do this year. And we have a number of our alumni who would be interested in participating if we can pull that off.”
Panelists additionally will talk about the Rockford IceHogs and observe the progress of draft picks.
Since Faulkner was employed in December 2020, when Danny Wirtz was elevated to CEO, she has talked of modernizing how followers see video games, whether or not it’s from their seats on the United Center or of their residing rooms.
“We’d like to try different actual views, see what works, and how do we lay data and information over that,” Faulkner mentioned. “Do we do several types of cameras that everyone’s seeing proper now within the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA?
“So we’re going to try to test new technology with NBC (Sports Chicago). I think they’re as excited as we are to test some of these new things — see how our fans respond to them.”
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com