Emrick said last year, pausing to explain why he takes time to talk to anyone who approaches him for a conversation, photo or autograph. “I always do because I’ll miss it when it doesn't happen.”Emrick worked the past 15 years as NBC Sports' lead play-by-play voice.
Executive producer Sam Flood called him “a national treasure.”“It has been a privilege and education on hockey’s biggest stage to have sat next to Doc for the last 14 years,” NBC color analyst Ed Olczyk said. “I will miss his stories, his preparation, his play-by-play, his friendship, and our dinners on the road."___More AP NHL: www.apnews.com/NHL and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports.