Post by Declan on Aug 16, 2009 9:28:53 GMT -5
Jeremy Roenick has numerous options for what to do with the rest of his life, including stage, screen and television. But he will clear a busy schedule for one particular job title, should it be offered.
"I began my career with the Blackhawks and should have ended it with the Blackhawks," he was saying the other day from his home near Phoenix. "And there should have been no in between the Blackhawks. I should never have left. I didn't want to leave. I loved Chicago and felt loved in Chicago.
"Anyway, I've seen what they've done for some retired guys like me. Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito, Denis Savard. They're ambassadors for the club. I could go for that. As long as we're at it, it would be cool if they retired my number, 27, too. I would be honored."
If departing the Hawks for specious causes and against a backdrop of perpetual scowls constitute credentials for status as ambassador, Roenick qualifies easily, as do the aforementioned legends.
Before the franchise changed its ways under the current enlightened regime, attrition and anger were more important to management than goals and assists. Roenick could have filled the new United Center for years but went instead to Phoenix in 1996 for Alexei Zhamnov, whose agent claimed the Hawks had acquired a "magician." Indeed, on any given game night, Zhamnov would disappear, just like that.
"I want to make it clear, I respected Bill Wirtz," Roenick said. "He was an old-school owner who ran his business the way he thought it should be run, and nobody was going to change his mind. I was asking [for] $4 million a year, at a time when salaries were escalating. I was told by a member of their organization I would never make $4 million a year. Mr. Wirtz and the team didn't see where things were going. They were against full disclosure of what everybody was making, and they wanted to keep payrolls down.
"Anyway, I was traded, I got the contract I wanted, and after I left, they wound up having to pay to keep up with or try to keep up with what teams were doing. So the Hawks signed Doug Gilmour for $6 million a year. Red and black, that's my blood. Still is. Played a lot of great places with a lot of great guys. But Chicago is Chicago."
In 20 seasons, Roenick amassed 513 goals and 703 assists, not to mention 12 concussions. After a recent twirl on a roller coaster with his kids, JR left the amusement park with scrambled eggs in the head, a reminder of how hard he played, regardless of injuries, real or imagined.
"Stanley Cup finals, 1992," Roenick recalled. "Mike Keenan, our coach, didn't like how the officials were calling games. I had a sprained thumb. Put an ice bag on it. He decided, put a cast on it for our press conference before Game 3 against Pittsburgh. I didn't need a cast. It came off the next day, and I played. But that was Mike. A beauty.
"Doug Wilson, he's the boss in San Jose, where I finished it up last spring. He was also my first roomie. We'd lie in our beds on the road, lights out, talking hockey. I'd listen to him about how to play, how to be a pro. I always felt, you owe fans your best. Give them a good show, then give them some time too. How long does it take to sign a few autographs after a game or toss them a few pucks before?"
Roenick will go to the Hall of Fame as one of the best American-born hockey players in history, a charismatic presence who would light up the United Center as an occasional guest. All he needs is to be asked.
Source: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/chi-16-verdi-aug16,0,716623.column