Popular former Hawks goalie to join Chicago's broadcast team as TV color commentator.

At 5-foot-5, Darren Pang was one of the shortest goalies in NHL history. The joke was there was a "6-Hole" above his head.

Pang's playing career wasn't long either. A knee injury suffered in 1990 training camp ended it. 

But "Panger"has always been big with Blackhawks fans, first as a netminder then as TV color commentator who progressed to national networks in the United States (ESPN, ABC and currently TNT) and Canada (TSN).

Pang has finalized a contract to join the Blackhawks TV broadcast team after 14 seasons with the St. Louis Blues. He'll join play-by-play man Chris Vosters in the booth starting in 2022-23.

Pang’s first broadcast experience was in Chicago on Hawkvision and covering Blackhawks games on WBBM-AM Radio in the early 1990s. 

"It’s an honor to return to Chicago and join the broadcast booth at such an exciting time for this franchise," Pang said in a statement released by the Blackhawks. "Coming back to where my NHL playing and broadcasting career started means a lot to me and my family and I’m thankful to the Blackhawks for this opportunity"

Pang, an Ottawa-area native, appeared in just 81 regular-season and six playoff games over three seasons in the NHL, all with the Blackhawks. That included a final campaign in 1988-89, when Pang said he and other players were terrorized by then-coach Mike Keenan's mind games and mood swings.

Pang’s contract with Bally Sports Midwest in St. Louis expired and the Blackhawks were granted permission last month to speak with him. He will also continue his work as a national analyst with TNT.

Pang told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last month that he was close to signing a three-year extension with TNT and that his next team job must accommodate that. The Blackhawks allowed Eddie Olczyk to work for NBC Sports, then TNT.

Pang, 59, had planned to remain with the Blues and Bally’s next season, but contract talks had stalled. The parent company of Bally’s, Diamond Sports Group, is a division of Sinclair Broadcasting and is currently in bankruptcy.

NOTE: Pang led the OHL Ottawa 67s to the Memorial Cup in 1984 and his sister used to work for the junior team.