During last night’s penultimate game against the Islanders, broadcaster Chico Resch officially announced he was stepping away from the microphone after eighteen years – in part due to his wife’s request to be near her ailing sister in Minnesota.  This was something that was in the air for a while, given Ken Daneyko spotting in for second periods of home games and Chico citing longtime partner Doc Emrick‘s quote about turning 65 earlier this year (what Doc said about looking in the mirror when he stepped back from local broadcasting).  Still, getting the official word is kind of sad to be honest, to completely lose the second part of what was a legendary pairing for fifteen years.

Not only that though, but losing Chico is like losing a friend.  If you ever met him or even just observed him interacting with fans in any kind of setting, you know he was a genuinely good, fun person that enjoyed what he did.  As much as people make fun of him at times, he could be sharp with valid observations based on being around the NHL for nearly 50 years – as a player, coach and broadcaster.  I’ve always heard that if you talked with Chico away from the mike he wouldn’t pull punches if you asked him a question about the team or anything and I observed this very briefly at a season ticket holder function a few weeks back when he was talking with a handful of fans alone in the fire lounge and made a couple of comments about the age of the team, and other observations about the team’s future good and bad.  Another time from a distance, I observed him chatting up fans on the subway ride back from a Devils-Rangers game at MSG (he was going to Secaucus).  I didn’t actually talk with him myself either time, I was just content to observe Chico being the life of the room.  Two of my friends happened to be in the clubs last night instead of their normal 120 seats and did meet him, he was his usual gracious self and talked with them, posed for a picture.

Aside from his knowledge and upbeat nature, he was intentionally – and unintentionally – hilarious on the air.  The ‘Chico Eats’ segments like the one above were a classic staple of home intermissions for a couple of years as Chico not only sampled the palates in and around the Rock, but met people and shared his food with them (sometimes).  And of course his Chicoisms where he would inadvertantly make a goof on the air like his excited ‘he put that bread and butter on the toast!’ proclamation when Mattias Tedenby scored on a penalty shot a couple years back.  My favorite Chicoism goes back several years where he was talking with Doc about how John Madden was missing from the ice on a particular penalty kill and Doc just stayed quiet, let Chico bring it up a couple of times then when Chico said something like, ‘I don’t know if he broke a skate or what the problem is’, Doc finally jumped in, ‘The problem will be alleviated as Madden comes out of the box now’, and everyone had a good laugh about that.

At least we’ll have one last game to listen to Chico’s wit and wisdom tomorrow afternoon, and celebrate his career.  Tonight’s Hockey Night Live show will carry an interview with Chico talking about both his playing days and his broadcasting, then there’ll be a first intermission tribute on the broadcast tomorrow, along with a goodbye to the fans during the postgame show.  Aside from everyone’s personal connection with Chico, old-time fans feel an even deeper connection given how Chico was the face of the Devils franchise as a player in its early years after being traded from the Islanders to Colorado, then moving with the team to New Jersey where he remained upbeat despite being stuck on bad teams for years.  In that sense, Chico really is a member of the family considering he was an original Devil and then spent nearly two decades as a broadcaster.

We’re gonna miss you, buddy!