Seattle Kraken TV Broadcaster Takes Step Back

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 08: Former New York Rangers Ed Olczyk, Doug Lidster and Mike Hartman meet with the media prior to the Rangers game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on February 08, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers were celebrating the 25th anniversary of their Stanley Cup win in 1994. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Getty

One of the most accomplished hockey broadcasters in the sport will not return to Seattle next season. Eddie Olczyk, a famed player and analyst, is departing Seattle after four seasons in the television booth.

Olczyk is an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster who has become one of the game’s 21st-century broadcasting icons. Olczyk served as the color commentator for regional broadcasts of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks and Seattle Kraken. In that time, he also rose to prominence nationally. Olczyk worked as the lead color analyst for NHL on Versus, NHL on NBC, EA Sports NHL series, Olympic broadcasts and for the NHL on TNT.

Eddie Olczyk Departs Seattle

Olczyk leaves at a time when the Seattle organization is still very much in search of an identity. Concurrently, the Kraken have been spurned twice by two high-profile wingers in fewer than six months. Neither Artemi Panarin in February nor Jason Robertson in June would agree to a contract extension with Seattle to facilitate a trade there. In both instances, the rumored Seattle offers were massive.

The Seattle Kraken announced Olczyk’s departure on social media.

Thank you, Edzo, for helping build our fan base and for sharing your passion for & knowledge of hockey with our fans over the past four years. You are truly one of a kind! pic.twitter.com/RBLtvfsd5y

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) July 28, 2026

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The Seattle broadcaster said in his statement that he’d be stepping away for “personal and family reasons.” He’s moving back to Chicago , where he spent 15 seasons as an analyst for Blackhawks broadcasts.

J.T. Brown will jump into the lead analyst role in the wake of Olczyk’s departure.

Edzo is Synonymous with Modern Hockey Broadcasting

Eddie Olczyk won an Emmy in 2009 for his on-camera work. He won again in 2012 for “Outstanding Achievement for Sports Programs” for live/unedited programming. Yet it was his affable personality that constantly endeared Olczyk to fans across multiple organizations.

The man affectionately known as Edzo, dating back to his time with legendary Penguins play-by-play Mike Lange, provided Seattle with an immediate high-end broadcast booth. Still, Olczyk told NHL.com that the constant travel between his home in Chicago, his work in Seattle and his work nationally for TNT had been taking a toll.

“I thought about it and I tried to fight through it. And it just got to a point where with my family, everything has been based around my cycle and my life. And the most respectful way of going about it from here is, I’m not going to be selfish anymore. I know what needs to happen.”

Eddie Olczyk’s National Work Continues

Olczyk is not retiring. Instead, the NHL veteran of 16 seasons plans to continue working with TNT on national broadcasts, though he will not work with a specific NHL team this season. Presumably, he will not work with a specific NHL team moving forward.

A survivor of Stage 3 colon cancer, Olczyk told NHL.com that everything had revolved around his hockey career since 1988.

“Everything has been centered around my schedule. Well, that’s changing. And now’s the time.”

Olczyk worked 65 games nationally between television and radio last season.

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