When Bruins defenseman Torey Krug barreled up the ice helmetless to lay an aggressive hit on Robert Thomas or when Oskar Sundqvist’s boarding penalty injured Matt Grzelcyk, for many regular Bruins television viewers, it was hard not to wonder:

“What would Jack Edwards have said?”

Of course in big moments, Edwards doesn’t just say anything. He shouts. He proclaims. He pontificates. He’ll mock opponents. He occasionally sings sometimes admonishes and seemingly never holds back, sprinkling history, hockey lore and some pop culture into his calls. Krug might have been a locomotive and Sundqvist’s actions ‘appalling."

Spending a few seconds flipping through the sports package on a satellite dish and many announcer calls blend together. There’s a lot of smooth-tongued, capable clones across the landscape. For some viewers there’s comfort in the announcer blending into the background. Jack Edwards is not one of those guys. For 13 seasons, there’s never a doubt when the channel lands on NESN that Edwards is calling the action.

But for most of the playoffs, Edwards is quiet. Not to those sitting around him, who still get his playful bombast and hyperbole, TV viewers are shutout. NBC and NBC Sports Network take over for much of the postseason and Edwards feels a little corked.

“It’s harder for me to watch a game and not call it that it is for me to call it. If you call a game you’re completely consumed by the moment and there’s really very little time to reflect when the puck is in play,” he said. “I find myself much more likely to issue loud conjecture when I’m just spectating or taking notes as a reporter. It’s a difficult balance to find.”

St. Louis radio broadcaster Chris Kerber received considerable praise when he invited long-time beloved Blues voice John Kelly to call the second period of Stanley Cup games.

Edwards thinks fans would prefer to hear their familiar local voices on TV or at least have the option to. This isn’t just about him. He still sits with his broadcast Andy Brickley during most of the home games and hears observations Brickley, who has been around the team all season, is making that fans miss out one.

Edwards’ idea is for NBC to put both teams’ local broadcasters on alternate NBC-controlled channels and let people pick. The network would still get the ad revenue and fans could choose which broadcasters they wanted to listen to.

“When NBC has carried a game in the Boston market against NESN and the field has been level, we out-rate NBC from anywhere from 5-to-1 to 8-to-1 ratios. The fans have spoken and continue to speak, but the league refuses to allow a split audience feed. NBC could have all of it’s ad inventory carried on an alternate channel and offer regional announcers.” said Edwards, who thought fans would even pay to hear their local broadcasters. “The closer you are to a story the more authority you have to tell the story and make those spontaneous connections. That’s a problem as network television confronts this age of personalization of media. They want to centralize everything while the world is speaking loudly and clearly about de-centralization. People want personalized media. The companies making the most money are listening to their customers as diligently as they can.”

His idea isn’t crazy. CBS does the same thing during the Final Four.

But without that option in place, Edwards is working as a reporter for NESN doing interviews with players and coaches for NESN’s Sports Desk or their hour-long pre and postgame shows that are either on NESN or NESN-plus depending on the Red Sox. Edwards doesn’t watch games thinking about what he would have said if he was on the air. He said it’s Brickley people should be missing.

“If I see something that feels right and stimulates me to spit it out, I say what’s on my mind. I’ve learned not to hang onto things,” Edwards said. “I’ve worked with well over 100 analysts in my career. This isn’t taking anything away from any of them, but Brick is like Usain Bolt against the rest of the world. There’s only one guy who is at the very summit. I defy anyone to understand, break down the game and deliver the message concisely and with good humor in 12 seconds or less as well as he does thousands of times ever season.

“He’s so sharp, on point. I usually study 4-7 hours before the puck drop. I feel as prepared as anybody and almost every time Brick does deep analysis he tells me something I didn’t see. That’s just a joy for me.”

Edwards is not surprised the Bruins are in the midst of a deep run.

“This team is a really really special team. I think it has the it factor that’s a prerequisite of winning the Cup,” he said. “That doesn’t get them there by any means. They’re so focused. They’re so balanced. They’re so deep. And they seem on a couple of games basis that they can plug massive holes.”