Former enforcer John Scott won’t pull punches during Chicago Blackhawks pre- and postgame shows: ‘I’m going to tell it like it is’

Former Chicago Blackhawks enforcer and “Dropping the Gloves” podcaster John Scott knew what he was getting into when he joined the team’s pre- and postgame show on NBC Sports Chicago.

The question is, did the Hawks and NBC Sports Chicago understand what they had gotten into after adding the tough-talk hockey podcaster to a one-year deal as an analyst?

“I get in trouble sometimes,” Scott told the Tribune. “I call players ‘garbage’ all the time. Like, ‘That guy’s garbage.’

“I remember I called P.K. Subban ‘garbage’ one time, and everybody just almost strung me up for it. But I’m not going to change the way I talk. Maybe NBC sits me down — ‘Cool it a little bit’ — but I hope not.

“I don’t swear, I don’t talk about sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll on my show. It’s very family-friendly. But I’ve got to be myself.”

It’s ultimately NBC Sports Chicago’s call, but as a broadcast partner the Hawks get a say, and team officials think they found a diamond in the rough after they and the regional sports network cast a wide net for guest analysts.

“There are some that love to do that and are more comfortable than others,” said Jaime Faulkner, Hawks president of business operations. “(Scott) was actually really excited about the opportunity. He wanted to do it. He was able to have good chemistry (on set). He’s able to talk about the team very well, he knows our brand very well.

“So we thought he would be a great person to have in the mix. NBC really liked him as well.”

Added Pat Boyle, who hosts “Blackhawks Pregame Live” and “Blackhawks Postgame Live”: “He’s got a great sense of humor and he’s got some stories to tell about his career.

“He was around during some great days in Blackhawks recent history, so he can bring some perspective to what the Kanes and the Toewses and the Sharpies were like behind the scenes and tell us some stories that we may not know that may relate to how Connor Bedard transitions into the NHL.”

When it comes to breaking down today’s players, “I’m honest,” Scott said. “If the Hawks are stinking it up, I’m going to tell it like it is. We’ll see how it goes on TV.”

Scott, who lives in Traverse City, Mich., said the plan is for him to make 30 to 40 appearances.

“If I struggle and I’m not good, it’ll be less,” he said. “If I do well and people seem to like it, then maybe I’ll do more.”

‘I wanted to hurt somebody’

Scott played for the Hawks in 2010-11, when he led the team with 72 penalty minutes, and for the bulk of 2011-12 before he was traded to the New York Rangers on Feb. 27, 2012.

The Edmonton, Alberta, native also played for the Minnesota Wild, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks, Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens, but none of those experiences compared to Chicago.

“Chicago’s a blue-collar town, man. They enjoy the tough guys,” he said. “When I would fight I would hear about it in the streets, like, ‘Hey, Johnny, we appreciate what you’re doing.’ So it’s a good fit with me and the Hawks.”

His enforcer role didn’t jibe with his personality, but he wanted to establish a persona as a 6-foot-8 menace.

“I wanted to hurt somebody,” he said. “I wanted to set the tone. … I’m the toughest guy in the league. Come and get it if you want to fight. You’re going to come out with a broken jaw.”

Scott is more famed for his fluky All-Star Game appearance in 2016. Then a journeyman demoted to the AHL, he was voted to the game by fans, and the NHL tried to pressure him to bow out.

Not only did he play, but his Pacific team won the championship and Scott was named MVP. Still, the league instituted the “John Scott Rule” to prevent that scenario from happening again.

“I wouldn’t be talking to you or have this job if I didn’t have the All-Star Game (storyline),” Scott said. “That’s why I’m here. I know what butters my bread.

“But I think what it was able to do was just to let people see that I wasn’t just some meathead enforcer dummy. I am a person. I do have a thought in my head. … And (fans) got to know me and my wife, my kids — I have seven kids now — so there’s more than just punching people in the face when you meet me.”

‘You’re not leaving home anymore, so figure it out’

Scott announced his retirement on Dec. 7, 2016, in an article he wrote for The Players’ Tribune.

“When I retired, I had a few offers from companies and teams to come and work for them,” Scott said, but he didn’t want to leave Traverse City.

And neither did his wife, Danielle.

“It was my wife saying, ‘You’re not leaving home anymore, so figure it out if you want to stay in the game.’”

Scott met Tim Wirzburger through a mutual friend and started “Dropping the Gloves” in 2019-20.

“It was kind of his idea, like, ‘You should have a podcast. You’re very popular, you can talk and I think people would like it.’”

Scott started with one episode a week and it gained traction. Now he and Wirzburger post their podcast three times a week and frequently have current and former players as guests.

Scott said he’ll continue to do the podcast, sometimes from Chicago.

‘It’ll be nerve-wracking’

Scott has appeared on Canada’s TSN and Sportsnet as a guest but never has been part of a broadcast crew.

“So it’ll be fun. It’ll be nerve-wracking,” he said.

He had other opportunities before NBC Sports Chicago and the Hawks came calling, but he turned them down.

During the offseason, “Pat Boyle threw my name into the ring when they were looking for potential new people to come in,” he said.

Boyle appeared on Scott’s podcast two years ago, then had him on the “Blackhawks Talk” podcast.

“I enjoyed the conversations,” Boyle said. “He’s really invested in watching games and breaking things down and shows a commitment to that. Also, naturally, he’s a former Blackhawk. And he’s got a really interesting story.”

In fact, a movie about Scott had been in the works.

“It got pretty close,” actor Hugh Jackman told Forbes entertainment reporter Scott King, who formerly covered the Hawks for NBC Sports Chicago and the Tribune. “I love the script. It’s a great story. I think it’s an amazing story.

“It just didn’t quite get there in the end.”

NBC Sports Chicago vice president of content John Schippman and Hawks director of broadcast Trevor Bray invited Scott to audition.

“I just got along well with Pat Boyle,” he said. “It was really neat going in for the studio test we did a month or so ago.”

Boyle said Scott “did a great job with the audition.

“The rest, as they say, is history,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Scott’s debut comes on Oct. 14, when NBC Sports Chicago airs the Hawks road game against the Montreal Canadiens.

‘Fans can smell that a mile away’

Talk to Scott for a while and you get the feeling he has watched a lot of analysts comment on a lot of teams, and he doesn’t always like what he hears.

“They’re afraid to critique the team and this and that — I have no issue with that side of the thing,” Scott said.

You also get a sense of the kind of commentary he’ll bring.

“If a player makes a bad pass, if Seth Jones is struggling, not living up to his $9 million contract, I’ll be the first to say it,” Scott said. “I’m not going to throw anybody under the bus, but I’m not going to lie.

“I think fans can smell that a mile away when you’re not telling the truth. And they don’t want to watch that. They turn it off.”

On the other hand, he won’t just toss hot takes.

“If it’s not going well, you have to tell the people why and what they need to do to change it,” he said.

Scott played recently enough that he knows some of the Hawks he’ll be talking about.

“I played with Connor Murphy, I know what type of defenseman he is,” he said. “He’s a good four or five guy (in the pecking order). I don’t think you want him being your (No.) 3 guy. And that’s no slight to him, but they need to get more talent on the back end.

“I got traded for Jarred Tinordi (in January 2016). I know him. He should be your six-seven guy and right now he’s your five-six guy.”

Scott sees the talent showing up sooner among the forwards.

“You have (Lukas) Reichel and (Philipp) Kurashev and (Connor) Bedard, obviously,” he said. “And I like Cole Guttman. I think there’s more bright spots up front, but it takes time to define those guys.”

Scott said the Hawks drafting Bedard with the No. 1 pick this summer “fast-tracks a rebuild.”

“He’s obviously a game changer. He’s a (Connor) McDavid-type player,” he said. “But when you look at the roster, they have some good pieces. You have to figure out who these young guys really are.

“Are we going to have to move on and try to find some other guys to surround Connor Bedard? Because right now, you’re trying to be a Stanley Cup contender in ‘25-26. You’ve got Connor Bedard at $950,000 for three years. That’s a steal. This guy’s going to put up potentially 100 points this year. So you have to maximize that.

“It’s like getting a star quarterback on his entry-level contract. He’s going to be making $8 million in ‘26-27. Like, let’s not fool anybody about that. So the way their salary cap is set up, you have a good situation where you’re losing a lot of money off the books next year. So this year is all about what do we have to work with.”

‘It’s a one-year deal, much like my hockey career’

Scott will try out this new role for this season.

“It’s a one-year deal, much like my hockey career,” he said. “Like, no stability whatsoever.

“I know all the other guys who have been with Chicago have gone on to, like, NBC and national stuff, and I really don’t want to do that. Hopefully this turns out to be a long-term relationship where I can be the pre and post (analyst). It’s honestly what I wanted to do since I started the podcast. And when I left hockey, I thought it’d be a great fit for me and my family.

“I’m a very simple man. You give me something and I’ll do my best. And this is where I want to stay.”