You knew the most talkative player in hockey would go overtime with his Hall of Fame speech.
But no one was complaining when Jeremy Roenick had the Hall audience in Toronto and TV viewers in tears, of sadness and laughter, recounting his tumultuous career that ended with a standing ovation.
From tales of his hockey tournament car rides up and down the East Coast, gasping for air in the back seat of the car as his dad smoked heavily and he was flatulating from wolfing down Taco Bell on the run, it was quite an adventure.
Roenick’s plaque was presented by another Hall of Famer who pushed the envelope, Chris Chelios, whom J.R. called “my hero, Captain America”.
Roenick recounted the night before the 1988 draft when the New England schoolboy wound up in the next hotel lobby urinal from his prospective Chicago coach, the intimidating Mike Keenan.
“Mike says to me ‘you got any balls kid’? I said ‘yeah, enough to play for you’. Thank goodness he didn’t look over the divider. But I thank him for bringing out the toughness in me.”
Roenick was eventually picked eighth overall by the Blackhawks and with his blend of rough house play and scoring gifts, became a fan favourite in the last glory years of the Madhouse on Madison. But he took the opening provided Monday night to say he deeply regretted a bitter contract holdout there.
“I want to apologize to the Wirtz family,” he said. “I let my ego get in the way of my contract talks.”
To Bill Wirtz’s successors he said “thank you for building a dynasty,” in the last decade.
As a Flyer, he told notoriously demanding Philadelphia fans “you cheered exactly as I played”, lamenting they should’ve won the 2004 Cup after losing a Game 7 Eastern final to Tampa Bay, the eventual champions.
“(Flyers’ boss) Ed Snider was the best owner in any sport,” he added, then telling Los Angeles Kings supporters he was sorry they got the worst version of him a few years later, out of shape from a lockout and twice concussed, trying to keep up with the likes of Luc Robitaille.
But his lowest moment was the summer of 2007. July 1st free agency day came and went with no one wanting a 37-year-old forward, even if he was only four goals shy of 500 in his career.
“Depression and alcohol had set in,” Roenick said, getting choked up. “Then I got a call from (San Jose GM) Doug Wilson, my first NHL roommate. He could see the desperation on my face.
“We went golfing and he gave me three conditions; I had to play for the league minimum, I couldn’t do media unless they asked him first, and no alcohol. I dumped out the beer I had in my hand and scored my 500th three months later. Thank you for being a friend when I needed it most, you truly saved my life.”
Naturally, his wife Tracy in the audience received the biggest tribute of all for staying by his side and helping raise their two children. Roenick’s transition into retirement was a difficult one, his career as a broadcast analyst cut short by NBC for what it called inappropriate remarks.
“People call me a Hall of Famer, but she is. You have the hardest job in the world to be a wife to myself. You taught me what unconditional love is. I can’t thank you enough for being a role model to me and our kids.
“And thank you to all the fans who I lifted you out of your seats, for supporting the best league in the world. This is a great way to end this chapter in my life.”
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