"I had made up my mind," Roenick said. "I was out. I was sick of everything. I thought everyone had turned a cold shoulder to me. It was like see you later."He even sent a text message email to Philadelphia Inquirer sportswriter Tim Panaccio saying he was retiring. He golfed every day and he wasn't thinking about hockey, unless you count the fact that he was saddened that he was leaving the game with a sour taste because the 2006-07 season in Phoenix had not gone well by anyone's definition.
Even when San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson called him to say he wanted to talk "about some things," Roenick said he still wasn't thinking Wilson wanted him to play again. He believed the hockey world had already set him out by the curb.
"I'm thinking maybe he wanted to give me a job in the organization so I went to see him," Roenick said.
Nine months later, Roenick is thankful that he went to see his former Blackhawks teammate Wilson and grateful to Wilson for giving me "a chance to hold my head high again."
Roenick said he was "blown away" by the respect that Wilson showed him that day.
"He told me that he didn't want me to retire the way that it was going," Roenick said, still touched by that meeting. "That meant the world to me because respect is huge to me."
They talked about Roenick's controversial 2006-07 season, when he had a spat with coach Wayne Gretzky that showed up in the form of Roenick leaving an arena after being told he was a healthy scratch.
Wilson wanted Roenick's assurances that his big personality wouldn't interfere with the team's focus, and he got that from Roenick, who was grateful that some team still wanted him.
"This is a team that doesn't like any kind of controversy or negative media attention," Roenick said. "This ownership is very high class and they want this team's image to be clean-cut. With all the media attention I have received, they wanted to make sure I understood that it couldn't be all about Jeremy Roenick."
That was more than fine with Roenick, whose passion has been both a friend and enemy. It was passion that allowed him to be one of top five American-born players of all time, and fueled him to become the third American-born 500 goal-scorer. But that passion also prompted him sometimes to bubble over. While the news media have always loved Roenick's charm and honesty, management sometimes cringed when he opened his mouth.
But Wilson, who had been in Chicago when Roenick arrived, understood that Roenick's passion was more his strength than his weakness.
"He just wanted me to come in, have fun playing, help them try to win a Cup, " Roenick said. "No media, no controversy, no problems. He wanted to make sure that I knew that this was Joe Thornton's and Pat Marleau's team, and he didn't have to tell me that."
Roenick has been the model citizen that Wilson has wanted him to be, and he has probably contributed more to the team's success than anyone anticipated. Of his 12 goals, eight have been game-winners and he has three shootout winners. No Shark has more game-winners than Roenick.
He might not be the same swashbuckling player that he was during his prime when he could roar around defenders with wildly energetic dashes up ice. But he still has a panache to his game that most players lack. Even at 38, Roenick forces you to notice him. When the game is on the line, he has reservations to be there.
With the Sharks still hoping to pass the Detroit Red Wings to finish No. 1 overall, Roenick scored a goal and shootout game-winner to beat the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night.
"This has been a storybook season, a fairy tale, really," Roenick said. "They just want me to enjoy playing hockey again, and be a positive influence on the young guys and to bring some grit and enthusiasm to the game. And if you give me a job to bring enthusiasm and you respect me and communicate with me, I will go to the wall for them."
Roenick, nominated by the San Jose chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association for the Masterton Trophy for perseverance, is a former multimillion-dollar athlete who is playing for $500,000. He seems just as thrilled as he seemed in the prime of his career when he was a 40- or 50-goal scorer.
He repeats several times during this interview that he can't say enough how grateful he is to Wilson for giving him the opportunity. What Wilson has also done is given Roenick a true opportunity to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career, and he has renewed Roenick's enthusiasm to the point that Roenick is starting to believe he won't be retiring this summer.
"I'm definitely thinking about (continuing to play)," Roenick said. "With the way my body feels, and the way it has gone and the quality of this organization, I definitely would like to play another year. But I'm not going to make this an in-season thing and cause any distractions. "
Roenick hasn't taken a vow of silence. But he has definitely taken a vow of making sure his big personality doesn't get in the way of the Sharks' big plans.