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SEATTLE — Eddie Olczyk pulls out his keycard and swipes it to enter one door. He continues through another door that leads him outside, then through another door back inside.

He eventually arrives at a restaurant. The first door he tries is locked, so he heads to a second, and that one opens for him. Someone is seated inside the otherwise-empty restaurant, and Olczyk explains he’s going into the other room to be interviewed. Nothing is said in exchange, and he carries on.

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A little later, Olczyk leaves the restaurant, walks down a set of stairs and joins media members near the top of a set of bleachers to watch a hockey practice. Seated a row behind him is his youngest son, Nick Olczyk, who is preparing for the night’s TV broadcast.

In a lot of ways, all this seems very normal. At the same time …

“It’s strange,” Nick Olczyk says later. “It’s not normal. It’s not what we knew. But at the same time, I think it’s exciting to be a part of something new.”

That something new is the Seattle Kraken.

This wasn’t Olczyk navigating through the United Center and meeting his son to watch the Chicago Blackhawks practice before a broadcast. This was Olczyk making his way through the Kraken Community Iceplex and watching the Kraken’s morning skate prior to joining John Forslund and J.T. Brown on the local TV Seattle broadcast in the evening.

Of all the NHL transactions this offseason, one of the most unexpected was Olczyk leaving his hometown team and the Blackhawks broadcast after 16 seasons to join the Kraken. Olczyk still doesn’t want to get too into why he passed on the Blackhawks’ contract offer and ultimately left the team. He’s focused on the present.

“There’s negotiations, and we agreed to disagree, and everybody has moved on,” he said.

The Kraken were well aware of Olczyk’s contract status. It wasn’t a secret he was due a new deal in the summer. Plus, like with all of his contracts, Olczyk had asked his brother, Ricky, a former lawyer, to look it over before signing. Ricky also happens to be a Kraken assistant general manager. As time passed and Olczyk hadn’t signed a new contract with the Blackhawks, there was the growing possibility he could become a free agent.

But even before Olczyk officially hit the market in July, the Kraken reached out to the Blackhawks and asked permission to talk to him while he was still under contract.

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“We did because I have a lot of respect for Danny (Wirtz) and Jaime (Faulkner), and I also know Jamie Spencer in the organization,” Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke said. “But Danny and Jaime had come out this year, and we spent time with them. I really have a lot of respect for what they’re doing and how they’re going about it. And so, it was fully wanting to ask their permission, and we just took our time.”

The Blackhawks granted that permission, which Olczyk said surprised him. Still, he continued to negotiate with the Blackhawks and only decided later to turn down their offer and agree to a deal with the Kraken. It wasn’t until August that Olczyk was technically hired by the Kraken because TNT, for which Olczyk calls games nationally, also had to sign off on his new contract.

Leiweke pitched Olczyk as he does anyone he wants to hire: He sells being part of a new NHL franchise and all the exciting things happening within the organization.

“There is something fun about being a pioneer,” Leiweke said.

Olczyk already had a ton of reasons to consider joining the Kraken. His brother, Ricky, was in the front office. His son Eddie was a Kraken amateur scout. His son Nick discussed a TV studio analyst role with the Kraken and signed with the organization before his father did. He’s close friends with Kraken general manager Ron Francis.

“They showed an extreme interest in wanting me, or at least exploring the opportunity,” Olczyk said of the Kraken. “Look, I never thought I’d leave home. That’s a fact. That’s just whatever. But like I said, the situation dictated itself, and the offer was too good to refuse, and I get an opportunity to work with my family. Just the timing is what it is, and you have to make those decisions. Just the way everything worked out and everybody kind of being in the places and the opportunity that was there, I needed to take a step back and figure out if that was (what I wanted).”

Olczyk does miss the Blackhawks.

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He got to see his old team and his good friend Troy Murray at the Blackhawks’ game in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche to begin the season, which “felt good.” Olczyk had talked to a lot of people since the news broke, but he hadn’t really seen many Blackhawks personnel since then. He never anticipated last season would be his last with the organization.

Olczyk was pleased the Blackhawks replaced him with Murray and Patrick Sharp, two people he has known and respected for many years.

“Perfect hires, Blackhawks forever, and so I think it’s a win-win for them doing the games,” Olczyk said.

From a broadcast standpoint, nothing has been different for Olczyk working for the Kraken. He had worked many national games with Forslund over the years, so there was immediate comfort there. Olczyk has known Brown since Brown was a teenager, and they’ve quickly developed an on-air rapport with Olczyk in the booth and Brown at ice level. Honestly, you could probably put Olczyk in any hockey TV booth around the league and he’d be more than fine.

“The broadcasting part of it, you know, just get into the booth, throw the headset on and wherever you are,” Olczyk said. “I do have to look over. Am I working with Kenny (Albert), or Johnny (Forslund) or Jonesy (Keith Jones) or J.T.? Can you guys wear a name tag for me? Because there are a couple of times over the years where I was doing a lot of games, maybe doing like five in six (days), and I think I called Doc (Emrick) Pat (Foley) and Pat, Doc. But, of course, both say that’s a compliment. I’ll leave it at that. I feel bad, but it’s hard not to do that.”

Everything else is a bit of an adjustment. His travel is longer. Whether coming to Seattle from Chicago, where he and his wife still have their home, or most cities he visits with TNT, the flights are simply longer. He has learned to sleep on planes over the years, so that helps. He also uses those flights to catch up on what’s going on around the league or in horse racing, which he still broadcasts for NBC. He expects to do about 45 Kraken games and probably another 50 NHL games, including the playoffs, with TNT.

Olczyk has rented a two-bedroom apartment in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue. Nick will live there permanently during the season, and Olczyk will take the smaller bedroom when he’s in town.

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Nick’s hiring by the Kraken did help make Olczyk’s decision easier. When Nick had expressed an interest in broadcasting after his college career, Olczyk encouraged him to seek opportunities anywhere he could. Nick offered to do color commentary for the Indy Fuel of the ECHL and would drive from Chicago to Indianapolis to call games beginning in the 2019-20 season. He had also been working for NBC Sports Chicago behind the scenes. Last season, he got a chance to call his first NHL games for the Blackhawks and did many more than expected when Murray missed games while battling cancer.

“My plan was to be in Indy for four years, and then I was starting to put feelers out for American League color jobs,” said Nick, who was hired, along with Alison Lukan, for a studio analyst role this season. “My plan, full honesty, was then to make the jump to the American League for five years and then have 10 years in the minors and then maybe get a chance in the NHL. I never thought, to be completely honest, I’d get 35 games last year, let alone one. And now to have a full-time job as a broadcaster in the NHL, it’s unbelievable. It’s come so much quicker than I thought.”

Ricky’s place in the organization definitely helped facilitate the family coming together with the Kraken. It’s the first time he’s been on the same team as his older brother, Eddie.

“It’s certainly unique,” Ricky said. “The Sutter family, they’ve been able to work together. Brian, Darryl, Duane, and they’ve had situations where they’ve worked in the same organization. So, I’ve always admired that. I know how close their family is and I know how close we are as a family. Given our age discrepancy — it’s four years older for the record — he and I were never able to play against each other or on the same team in any sport. And so to be able to work with him, it’s extremely satisfying, gratifying. And I’m happy for the organization, obviously, on a professional level, but on a personal level, I’m just ecstatic and over the moon.”

Olczyk feels the same. As much as he never expected to leave the Blackhawks, the Kraken presented a perfect option. He also doesn’t have to wait long to return to Chicago and the United Center. He’ll be there on Sunday as the Kraken visit the Blackhawks.

“When I knew I wasn’t going to be back, and the Seattle thing finally came to fruition, to see the schedule, I went, ‘OK, I don’t have to wait very long to come back,’” Olczyk said. “Having walked in that building for 16 straight years, under some real emotional time, not only franchise-wise but also personally, spent a lot of my life there, so I’m sure the time to reminisce and be able to really kind of sit back. … It’ll be great to be back home and I’m sure it will be emotional for me on the inside, for sure.

“I’m sure going back will feel a little different, but it’s home. It’ll always be home. I’ll walk in there as I always have and be proud of what I’ve been able to do for the franchise over all these years. And just make sure I walk into the right booth. I’m sure Sharpie will probably have it taped off and let me know there’s a password to get in there.”

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Seattle has become another home for Olczyk. He went to a couple of Seattle Mariners games. He’s taken in some of the scenery and gotten to know the area. The weather has even surprised him.

“The weather’s been unbelievable,” Olczyk said. “Everybody’s saying, ‘get ready, get ready, the rain’s coming, the rain’s coming.’ I’m like, I don’t know, maybe. Honestly, I shouldn’t say, but it’s only rained one day in like the 30 I’ve been here so far. I’m like, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I’m sure there will be a day where it’s pouring rain, and I’ll call you, like, hey, it’s raining here, just so you know, and it hasn’t stopped.”

(Top photo: Scott Powers / The Athletic)

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