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Ed Olczyk itching to coach again

Ed Olczyk

It’s been almost nine years since NBC’s Ed Olczyk was last behind the bench as a coach. He was coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2003 til Dec. 15, 2005 when he was fired and replaced by Michel Therrien.

Now we all know him as Doc Emrick’s color commentator on NBC and NBCSN broadcasts, but he tells Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Sun-Times he has that itch to coach once again.

“There is still an emptiness,” he says. “There are very few people who know my desires and my feelings of where I am and where I want to get to, but there’s certainly an aspiration there. So if it would present itself, that’s where I would want to go. It might not happen. Who knows? What I wanted to do back in ’03 is where I’d like to go if I got the opportunity.”

Olczyk’s tenure with the Penguins is best known for seeing him coach Sidney Crosby in his rookie season in 2005. Olczyk lasted just 31 games before being fired as the Penguins got off to a 8-17-6 start.

Olczyk said if the opportunity to coach again was there he’d have to consider it. After being given a Penguins team before the arrival of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang and featured Dick Tarnstrom as the leading scorer, wanting to get back at it and try again is understandable.

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