Nobody Had More Fun Than Jack
Jack Edwards gets a mixed bag of responses from the hockey community. He is beloved by New Englanders for keeping it real and hated by everyone else for being way over the top. Regardless on how you feel about him, there is no denying his intelligence, passion, and love for the game.
He was unapologetically honest with how he felt during a broadcast. The refs were never too far from his eye when a questionable call was made against the black and gold. And there was never doubting whose side he was on. Love him or hate him, it helped keep him around and popular in one of the biggest sports markets in the country.
Winters were always easier to handle with Jack and Brick. They made up one of the more under appreciated tandems for the past 19 years. It was said when he announced his retirement that he called a golden age of Bruins hockey with deep playoff runs, one of a kind players, and the ultimate prize in 2011 when the Stanley Cup came home for the first time since 1972.
When the Bruins knocked out Montreal, summer time came to Philadelphia, and when the Bruins ripped it out of Toronto’s hands and killed the beast, Jack told the story with his one of a kind style and personality. Despite working for networks, he just wanted to come home and join us in rooting for the hometown team. He was part of the experience. He was the constant on the journey.
Jack is not leaving on his own terms, which makes this heartbreaking. He is having a neurological issue impacting his speech. It’s become evident that he’s not as sharp as he was even a few years ago. For about a minute on one of the broadcasts before the playoffs, you could hear him straining just to say players names and actions. It was honestly scary. It sounded like he was having a medical emergency in front of us. By the grace of the hockey gods as he calls them, it passed and he continued. But for the doubters and skeptics, that all but confirmed something was wrong. Jack officially announced his retirement right before the playoffs began. With game seven of the first round series moving to ABC, game six was Jack’s final call.
Criticized and commended. Blunt yet controversial. Loved and hated. Through the tumbling muffins and too much Chinese mustard on the shots, he never changed. He stayed strong like the vulcanized rubber that makes up the puck. We stood with him in return. The great ones can’t go forever, and even the greatest shifts need to end to get fresh legs to cowboy over the boards.
We’ll miss the sense of humor, the straight to the point delivery, his long tangent intros, and “rock’em sock’em robots” calls when a boxing match ensued on ice. To this day, I still think he’s the best at calling hockey fights. Even in departure, his critics got one last jab on his way out. For those out spoken social media pundits, he had three words that were so on brand. Get over it.
Jack Edwards role as the ringmaster of the “who has more fun than us tour” may be over, but it sure was a show to remember.