John Wiedeman didn’t say much Wednesday. It wasn’t because he didn’t have anything to say.
The radio voice of the Blackhawks on WGN-AM 720 knew it was imperative to rest his vocal chords after calling the longest game in franchise history Tuesday night.
“I definitely felt it last night after the game,” Wiedeman said. “I was pounding the water to put out the fire in my throat.”
Wiedeman, though, wouldn’t have it any other way. The playoffs always are the payoff for him and his partner, former Blackhawks center Troy Murray. Their TV counterparts, Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk, get more fanfare and play to larger audiences during the regular season. However, only the first round of the playoffs air on local TV. NBC and NBCSN take over from there. That means Foley is done for the season, and Olczyk gets some, but not of all the Blackhawks playoff games with his network duties.
Meanwhile, the Blackhawks’ radio team is on the call for the entire postseason package.
“People ask, ‘Would you rather be on the TV side?'” Murray said. “Yeah, that’s great, but I enjoy doing radio. I feel sorry for Pat not being able to do these games. The fact that John and I get to continue into the postseason makes all the difference in the world.”
Wiedeman truly has savored every moment he has been with the team. Even though he grew up in Kansas City, Mo., he says catching a glimpse of a Blackhawks game on TV during the 1960s started his love affair with hockey. Later, he used to drive up from Kansas City to see Murray and Olczyk play on the Blackhawks teams during the ’80s.
After calling games for the Islanders, Wiedeman jumped at the opportunity when the Blackhawks’ radio job opened before the 2006-07 season.
“I always had such a passion for the Blackhawks,” Wiedeman said. “I couldn’t have imagined this would ever happen.”
Murray’s relationship runs deep after playing parts of 12 seasons with the Blackhawks. Now he is completing his eighth season working with Wiedeman.
The pair forms one of the best broadcast teams in town, radio or television. Murray says he loves listening to Wiedeman call a game.
“He paints such a good picture,” Murray said.
Wiedeman, meanwhile, doesn’t mince words: He thinks Murray is the best analyst in hockey.
“Eddie is terrific, but maybe I’m biased because I work with Troy,” Wiedeman said. “He’s so good at reading body language. He can tell if two players are going to get into a fight. When Troy says something, you take it to the bank because he has been in every conceivable situation as a player.”
Wiedeman and Murray’s timing couldn’t be better. They began their partnership just before the Blackhawks began their renaissance.
As a result, it is Wiedeman, not Hall of Famers announcers Foley and Lloyd Pettit, who has two Stanley Cup calls to his credit. They hardly were scripted, as each ending came suddenly; Patrick Kane’s overtime game-winner to beat the Flyers in 2010 and the Blackhawks’ late two-goal rally to defeat the Bruins in 2013.
“I knew I had an obligation to the Blackhawks fan to get it as right as I could and to inject as much excitement and passion as possible,” Wiedeman said. “I don’t know if you ever get perfect, but I felt like I got them pretty well right.”
Now Wiedeman is gearing up for a possible third Stanley Cup call with the Blackhawks. He says his vocal chords will be ready.
“To say to a fan base, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup,” Wiedeman said. “I don’t think it ever gets better than that.”
Chicago Tribune contributor Ed Sherman writes about sports media at shermanreport.com. Follow him @Sherman_Report.
