Jack Edwards was the voice of the Boston Bruins in the latest golden age of the club. The B’s broke a 39-year Stanley Cup drought and went to two more Cup finals while Edwards helmed NESN’s microphone.
And on Sunday, the team and Bruins’ fans honored the long-time play-by-play man in a pregame ceremony and unveiled a mural in the NESN booth with Edwards’ familiar into “From high above the ice…” where new play by play announcer Judd Sirott now calls the games.
Edwards retired after last season due to health problems that have affected his speech and remain unsolved, but the bombastic icon has kept his sense of humor.
“Doctors still haven’t determined what’s going on between my brain and my mouth, despite Toronto fans insistence that there is nothing wrong with my brain,” joked Edwards.
Edwards, who was behind the B’s mic for 19 years after long career in broadcast journalism at ESPN, Ch. 5 and in Providence and New Hampshire, was charmed by the reception from the team and the fans.
“I’m full of gratitude for the players, the organization and fans who have put a roof over my head for 19 years. It’s truly an honor to have my family’s name on the wall of the booth where I made a living in a world-class arena,” said Edwards.
Edwards said it was the written word that was his introduction to sports.
“I grew up with two newspapers, the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe and I read Joe Fitzgerald and Tim Horgan and Will McDonough and Leigh Montville and it impacted me in a way that kids don’t have now,” said Edwards. “It told me the value of words and I incorporated that into my style and I’m an emotional guy. And it was an organic fit between my style – and I don’t work with kids to emulate that style – but it worked for me and it was a dream come true. And to have my name in that booth is an honor I couldn’t have dreamed of.”
Edwards had many catchphrases and famous calls such as “tumbling muffin,” “Chinese mustard” and “juicy rebounds.”
Of all his favorite calls, it was “This building is vibrating!” during the B’s Game 6 win over the Montreal Canadiens in 2008, a game that has widely been viewed as the game that put the B’s back on the map.
He said the call was a tribute to long-time radio voice Bob Wilson, whose call of a Jean Ratell goal against Montreal in overtime went “The building is moving.”
“He was my model for play by play in my UNH days,” said Edwards.
Edwards could tick some people off during his day, whether it was league offices or the opposing team’s personnel. But he never flinched.
“(Analyst) Andy Brickley and the NESN staff had my back, because they knew my heart was in it,” said Edwards.
It would be hard to argue against that. …
Loose pucks
Matt Poitras has gotten involved in some rough stuff lately, pushing back against some big hits.
“I think it’s his competitive spirit. He puts himself in some bad situations which he needs to learn from those, but we just love how combative he is. He has competitive fire. He’s a Bruin,” said Jim Montgomery before the game.
Sure enough, Poitras got walloped behind the Seattle net in the third period by Adam Larsson.
This time, Trent Frederic came to his defense, chucking knuckles with Larsson.
“I love us sticking together, Freddy tonight defending Poitras,” said Montgomery.
Frederic got an extra two minutes, but Charlie Coyle said “that’s an easy kill.”
Montgomery said that Charlie McAvoy played his best game of the year on Sunday. He was a plus-1 in 23:58 of ice time with seven shots on net and an assist.
