Eddie Olczyk had just announced his diagnosis with stage 3 colon cancer in August 2007 when his phone rang."Rocky called me right away and just said, 'Hey, whatever you need, you've got it.' He would check on me often and that's something I'll never forget, " Olczyk said Wednesday.Rocky was W. Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz, the principal owner and chairman of the Chicago Blackhawks since 2007, who died Tuesday at age 70."It was the whole organization, for sure, " Olczyk said. "I learned from that experience, if the shoe was on the foot of myself, I would handle that situation for someone else the same way because they made me feel at peace. They were there to extend any help to me or my family and that meant the world. It just made me feel good and let me concentrate on trying to get better and healthy."Olczyk, who had played for the Blackhawks and at the time was a television analyst, announced that was he cancer free in the first intermission of the Blackhawks' 5 2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on March 22, 2018.It was one of many examples Olczyk had of Wirtz's generosity and impact on the Blackhawks organization.Born Oct. 5 https://www.krakenproteamstore.com/kole-lind-jersey, 1952, Wirtz was the grandson of Arthur Wirtz, who bought a stake in the Blackhawks in 1950 and acquired outright ownership of them in 1966. Rocky's father, Bill, owned the team from 1983 2007. When Bill Wirtz died in 2007, Rocky inherited it."It's just a very tough time, a very sad day and I feel for his wife, Marilyn, and obviously Danny Wirtz, Rocky's son and Blackhawks CEO and the kids and the family and entire organization, " Olczyk said.Olczyk, chosen by the Blackhawks with the No. 3 in the 1984 NHL Draft https://www.krakenproteamstore.com/jordan-eberle-jersey, played for Chicago from 1984 87 and from 1998 2000. Olczyk was a television analyst for the Blackhawks from 2006 22 before joining the Seattle Kraken in a similar role last season."I'll just remember him for always reaching out, always doing things for others without limelight or cameras or microphones or pictures and just always willing to have conversation and dictate the conversation to what was going on in my life or my family's life, " Olczyk said."My dad was in the grocery store business for 1, 000 years and obviously the Wirtz family and Rocky and the Wirtz beverage business, there was always a tie there. Any time my dad would see Rocky, they would be talking about that world." A remembrance of Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz During Rocky Wirtz's tenure, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. In 2007, the Blackhawks reached a deal with Comcast SportsNet Chicago now NBC Sports Chicago to televise home games, something that wasn't done during Bill Wirtz's tenure unless the game was nationally televised.Olczyk already was working on Blackhawks broadcasts during the 2006 07 season when Rocky Wirtz negotiated the local television deal. In 2008, Olczyk was joined in the TV booth by play by play man Pat Foley, who was brought back after being fired two years prior."The on the ice carries the off the ice, but Rocky knew how important it was to brand and to have that three hour commercial for 82 nights of the regular season, " Olczyk said.The Blackhawks returned to prominence under Rocky Wirtz Ryker Evans Jersey, and Olczyk was grateful to be there for it."It was a renaissance, there's no doubt about it, " he said. "To have done it on TV all those years was a great honor and privilege and then you talk about all the great players and coaches and obviously the winning ties it all up. Rocky was the leader, and it was just great to work for him and under him but to know him was even better and that was very important."

"I am very disappointed."That's how Columbus Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson started one of the most humbling press conferences Monday to describe what he called one of the toughest times he's had as an NHL executive.On Sunday, Mike Babcock resigned as Blue Jackets coach after the NHL Players' Association investigated allegations of get to know you interviews that made some players "very uncomfortable, " according to Davidson.Davidson said he learned of the findings of the investigation Friday via a phone call from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and by Sunday Babcock was out, having never coached a game for Columbus.Associate coach Pascal Vincent was named Babcock's replacement."Sometimes you just flat out make a mistake, " Davidson said. "We made a mistake. I'm free to sit up here and tell you that. I think as a group we owe [our fans] the explanation and apology, but we're also very comfortable going forward with Pascal once we get through this."They need to get through it right away.Training camp opens with medicals and testing Wednesday. The Blue Jackets players, like the rest in the NHL, will be on the ice for their first official practice Thursday. There is no more time to talk about Mike Babcock."As a group we're just looking forward to camp coming up and blocking out the noise, " captain Boone Jenner said. "There's been a lot of noise."It had to be addressed.Davidson did that, offering the mea culpa for hiring Babcock despite knowing the coach's turbulent past with players, and that it could backfire.General manager Jarmo Kekalainen did it, too, admitting it was a mistake to hire Babcock and taking full responsibility for it.The ownership group, led by majority owner and governor John P. McConnell, released a statement saying they are "deeply frustrated and disappointed Ronnie Attard Jersey, " but that Davidson's and Kekalainen's jobs are safe "at this time."All important. Blue Jackets fans deserved to hear from the leaders of the organization. They deserved to hear from ownership.But then they heard from Vincent, and that might have been most important of all, because he got things moving forward after Davidson and Kekalainen spoke, which is exactly what needed to happen."We've been facing some adversity and as a team, as a person, as a coach, what do you do?" Vincent said in his opening remarks. "You face it, and you move on. And that's what we intend to do. We're going to move on. I know our players have been working extremely hard this summer. I know what we did as coaches and our focus right now is we're looking ahead. What can we do today to get ready for tomorrow? We're going to be ready for Thursday. We're going to be on the ice Thursday and we're going to get going."Our plan is to be a highly competitive team that will be working extremely hard, but also we want to make sure our fans are proud to be Columbus Blue Jackets fans. And that's it." © Getty ImagesVincent said he spoke briefly with the Blue Jackets players Monday morning after Kekalainen addressed them and came away from the meeting with "no doubt" the players accept him as their new coach."It's been a crazy week to say the least for us Tyson Foerster Jersey, but we're ready to move on, starting right now, today with 'Pazi' as our coach, " Jenner said. "Knowing Pazi, he definitely deserves this. He's a really hard working, intelligent coach that cares about everyone in that room. I'm super excited and I know the other guys are as well."Said forward Patrik Laine, "I haven't been this excited in a long time."If sincere, that's step No. 1.Step No. 2 is Vincent getting the players to buy in to how he wants them to play, understanding that he's now the boss after serving as Columbus associate coach the past two seasons.Remember, Vincent has never been a head coach in the NHL, although he was for five seasons in the American Hockey League and for 12 in the QMJHL. Brad Larsen, their coach the past two seasons, had also never been an NHL head coach before getting the Columbus job.The Blue Jackets missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs each season under Larsen, finishing second to last in the overall NHL standings last season with 59 points, one better than the Anaheim Ducks."I've been working 30 years to be a coach in the National Hockey League, " Vincent said. "It's been a long process, but what I'm good at is I'm a team player and I care about people."Vincent said it helps that he and Babcock share the same vision on how the game should be played, so most of the plans that were being implemented through the offseason after Babcock got the job on July 1 will remain."The transition is going to be seamless, " Vincent said.Step 3 is putting it all together and making the Blue Jackets a competitive team.Larsen was fired April 15 with Kekalainen calling it "absolutely a necessary change that we needed to make."Babcock was hired July 1 with Kekalainen saying he was "the right person, the right man for the job."That backfired. It doesn't matter anymore, not with opening night 24 days from now, Oct. 12 at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.The Blue Jackets need to be over the short lived Babcock era by the time they get on the ice Thursday."It's been a hard few days and then it settles in, " Vincent said. "My focus is, OK, what do we do? We focus on tomorrow. We make sure that we're ready. The players https://www.flyersprostore.com/dave-schultz-jersey, I know them, they deserve for the coaches to be ready for training camp, and we will be."NHL.com independent correspondent Craig Merz contributed to this report Related Content Babcock hire was mistake, ' Blue Jackets executives saySep 18, 2023Babcock resigns as Blue Jackets coach, replaced by VincentSep 18, 2023.

KRAKEN 2 4 1 at HURRICANES 3 4 0 7 p. m. ET; ROOT NW, BSSOKraken projected lineupTye Kartye Matty Beniers Jordan EberleJaden Schwartz Alex Wennberg Oliver BjorkstrandEeli Tolvanen Yanni Gourde Jared McCannDevin Shore Pierre Edouard Bellemare Kailer YamamotoVince Dunn Adam LarssonJamie Oleksiak Will BorgenBrian Dumoulin Justin SchultzJoey DaccordPhilipp GrubauerScratched: Jaycob MegnaInjured: Brandon Tanev lower body , Andre Burakovsky upper body Hurricanes projected lineupTeuvo Teravainen Sebastian Aho Martin NecasMichael Bunting Jesperi Kotkaniemi Seth JarvisJordan Martinook Jordan Staal Jesper FastBrendan Lemieux Jack Drury Stefan NoesenJaccob Slavin Brent BurnsBrady Skjei Jalen ChatfieldDmitry Orlov Tony DeAngeloFrederik AndersenAntti RaantaScratched: Dylan CoghlanInjured: Andrei Svechnikov lower body , Ryan Suzuki upper body ; Brett Pesce lower body Status reportThe Kraken will dress the same lineup it used in a 5 4 overtime win at the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Daccord will make his second straight start after making 23 saves Tuesday. The Hurricanes did not hold a morning skate Thursday Jalen Chatfield Jersey. Andersen, who has missed the past three games with an upper body injury, could return and start. Pesce, a defenseman, will miss 2 4 weeks after having surgery Tuesday. Svechnikov, a forward, skated with the Carolina extras Thursday; he has yet to play this season. The Hurricanes assigned goalie Pyotr Kochetkov to Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Thursday Blake Murray Jersey.

CHICAGO The Vegas Golden Knights became the first Stanley Cup champions to open the following season 6 0 0 with a 5 3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Saturday. Nicolas Roy broke a 2 2 tie 13 seconds into the third period. 'We just wanted to play a better third [period],' Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. 'We knew we weren't at our best for the first two periods. We had pockets of good hockey, pockets where we were fighting the puck, lost our structure at times. So we just wanted to have a good period. Yes, it helps. 'Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, scored his second NHL goal 90 seconds into his first home game for the Blackhawks 2 4 0. Arvid Soderblom made 19 saves. VGK CHI: Bedard opens scoring with PPG Paul Cotter had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights, who passed the 1920 21 Ottawa Senators and 1985 86 Edmonton Oilers for best start by a Cup champion. Adin Hill made 21 saves. 'It's cool,' Hill said of the start https://www.edmontonoilersstoreonline.com/calvin-pickard-jersey. 'We came in with the mentality of trying to repeat what we did last year. I think it's carried over. The last couple of [preseason] games, we started getting a little smoother and a little more crisp with things, just to implement our system. I think we carried that through into the season, and it's been pretty seamless. It's been a good start, so yeah, keep building on it. 'Bedard made it 1 0 at 1:30 of the first period on the power play. Off the face off, a wide open Bedard took a pass in the slot from Taylor Hall and put a wrist shot past Hill. It was Bedard's second goal of the season, and it came after he was held scoreless in his previous two games. 'It's always nice to score,' he said. 'Whether it was first career goal or first goal here, it's always nice to get that, and it feels good to get it quick. It was big for our power play to see one go in, but obviously now it doesn't feel as good, but in the moment, it was great for sure. You can remember it, for sure, when you're looking back on it. But obviously now, you're focused on what we can do better to win. But obviously, as a moment in your life, looking back you'll remember it. 'It was electric in there. It was cool for me and all the guys there. You get energy from that. For us to get one early and get [the fans] up like that was great. They're awesome, so it was a lot of fun to play in front of them. 'William Karlsson tied it 1 1 at 4:05 on a backhand shot on the power play, picking up the rebound of a shot by Cotter from the edge of the left circle. VGK CHI: Karlsson ties the game at 1 1 with a PPG Jonathan Marchessault put Vegas ahead 2 1 at 7:30 of the second period. He moved into the slot, and his wrist shot got between Soderblom's pads. Chicago tied it 2 2 at 8:50 when Reese Johnson deflected Connor Murphy's point shot past Hill. Roy gave the Golden Knights the 3 2 lead 13 seconds into the third period, taking a backhand pass on the rush from Keegan Kolesar and scoring from in front of the net. 'For sure, I think that was a bit of a killer for them,' Karlsson said James Hamblin Jersey. 'If you let one in right off the bat, that's going to give us momentum. 'Mark Stone scored at 13:47 for a 4 2 Vegas lead, putting the puck in after Michael Amadio circled the net and fed it out in front. Cotter scored on the power play at 16:09 to make it 5 2. VGK CHI: Stone finishes Amadio's feed in front Corey Perry scored from the right circle for Chicago for the 5 3 final at 19:45. Bedard's power play goal was the lone goal on the man advantage for the Blackhawks, whose power play is 2 for 27 in the first six games. 'I thought the end of the second period we had some really good opportunities there,' Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. 'Unfortunately [they] didn't go in. AA' Andreas Athanasiou had one on the back door, Tyler Johnson had one in the slot. I think we hit the post again tonight on that. So we've just got to keep shooting Brandon Sutter Jersey. I'd still like to see quicker movement, more shot mentality. I think at times we had it, and at times when it doesn't go in, they want the perfect play which, you have to go with works. 'We'll keep driving that home and hopefully they fall. 'NOTES: Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo upper body injury has skated the past two days. Cassidy said he hopes Pietrangelo 'rejoins the group' for practice Monday. The Blackhawks had a pregame video tribute to late owner Rocky Wirtz, who died July 25 at 70 Bedard 18 years, 96 days became the second youngest player in Blackhawks history to score in their home opener behind Eddie Olczyk 18 years, 56 days on Oct. 11, 1984. The only other teenagers to do so for Chicago were Stan Mikita 19 years, 140 days on Oct. 7, 1959 and John Harms 19 years, 187 days on Oct. 29, 1944.