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Conversation with John Weidman, former Isles broadcaster |
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John Weidman had served as the radio play-by-play for the New York Islanders from 2001-02 until the 2005-06 season. In that time he met his wife Kelly, had one child, and another is on the way. At the same time, Pat Foley, an institution of the Chicago Blackhawks broadcasts for 25 years, did not get his contract renewed in Mid-May.
Weidman said, "My contract with the Islanders was not renewed. I grew up a Blackhawks fan and that's the job I always wanted. So I called the Blackhawks, and when the job came open, they told me to apply. I did, and they offered me the job. I excepted it with a heavy heart. I loved Long Island. This place and Charles Wang were great to me. My wife and I saw this as great move at the time. I am grateful to Charles Wang for what he did for my family, and I'm grateful to Blackhawks for giving me this opportunity. My contract with the Islanders lapsed. There was a period of time when my option was to be picked up and it wasn't. I hadn't heard from the Islanders as there were a lot of changes going on here. (They hired a new coach, who hadn't coached in the NHL in 10 years, fired a general manager who won a Stanley Cup and hired the back-up goalie as the General Manager). I knew I wasn't high on the Islanders priority of things to do."
October 31st was a special day for John Weidman. "It was an emotional day for me. I have a lot of friends here, who are almost family members to me. It's great to come back early in the season and get it over with. I started meeting people already at the hotel. The morning skate was fun. I got see a lot old friends, and had a lot of conversations with them. The business part of day is that I have to prepare for the game; study the game notes and pick out stories for the game. I had to block out four hours during the day to get that done. People were calling me all day long. Wanted to meet with me and say hi. When the puck dropped it felt kind of weird. My old team against my new team. I feel very relaxed as I look around the building ...A lot of emotions...I see all the memories, the good and the bad. All the times I spent on Long Island... I think more about the good than the bad. I remember the 2002 playoffs Shaun Bates scored the penatly shot goal. That physical series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. How the Islander fans came together and showed their passion for the team. They had a great team for two year... Peter Laviolette getting his NHL coaching start on Long Island. A lot of great things happened with this team. The 2003-04 team that Steve Stirling coached was a year I won't ever forget. Last year was a difficult, but in its own way it had its high points. To see it all come to end and see that you have to move on is difficult, but it's what you have to do. I want to work in this game the rest of my life. The greatest memory of Long Island was the factthat it was a dream I had all of my life. I never realized better than here on Long Island. Five of the best years of my life. Now that I'm in Chicago cutting the cord isn't the easiest thing but it's what I have to do."
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