Trending on Google Trends US (barry melrose) with 200K+ searches search interest. Barry Melrose, former NHL broadcaster and coach, dies at 70 The New York Times Former NHL player, coach and longtime ESPN analyst Barry Me...
Barry Melrose, a longtime NHL analyst for ESPN, retired in 2023 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Mark J. Terrill / The Associated Press
Barry Melrose, one of the most prominent analysts and ambassadors for hockey in the United States, died Wednesday at the age of 70, the NHL announced.
Melrose played 300 NHL games over six seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, and he took the Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final in his first year as an NHL head coach. But Melrose's role as an ESPN studio analyst became his legacy in the sport.
Countless American fans were raised on Melrose's informative but informal segments - often with his longtime friend Steve Levy - during the 1990s and 2000s. With his loud suits and slicked-back mullet, Melrose helped bring hockey to a mainstream audience from 1996 until 2023, when he retired after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
"From the flowing locks of his distinctive mullet to the flared lapels of his trademark long suit coats, Barry Melrose cut an unmistakable figure whenever you were fortunate enough to run into him at a rink or catch him on your television screen," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "You were even more fortunate if you engaged him in conversation or listened to his analysis, because he never failed to boost your love of the game of hockey.
"We mourn the passing of a hockey original. And we send our deepest condolences to his wife, Cindy, their sons, Tyrell and Adrien, and all of his teammates, colleagues and admirers around the hockey world."
The Kings hired Melrose in 1992 at 35 as a first-time head coach. With his big personality, the Saskatchewan native embraced the Hollywood side of coaching in Los Angeles and proved to be the right leader at the right time for an upstart Kings team that had famously traded for Gretzky. Highlighted by the superstar's legendary Game 7 hat trick to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1993 Campbell Conference finals, Melrose guided the Kings through the first three rounds, without home-ice advantage, to the franchise's first Stanley Cup Final appearance.
Kings president Luc Robitaille, who played alongside Gretzky on that 1992-93 team, reacted to Melrose's death in a statement to The Athletic : "I am truly saddened by the loss of my friend. Barry meant so much to me personally, and his impact on our sport was immeasurable. He played an important role in the growth of hockey and its popularity across the United States, and his influence on the game will not be forgotten."
The Kings' 1993 postseason run was the high point for Melrose as an NHL head coach. Los Angeles missed the playoffs in 1994, and he was fired 41 games into the following season. But that opened the door to the career he became most famous for. Melrose was an institution at ESPN, as popular with his hockey-loving colleagues as he was with viewers.
"Barry was my best friend at ESPN," longtime "SportsCenter" host and NHL play-by-play announcer John Buccigross posted on X . "A big brother figure of rock solid values. I am shook to my core. Barry gave his life to hockey, and some of his ESPN family, like me, learned of his shocking death today while at a hockey rink in Las Vegas preparing for the upcoming season. Chilling and fitting - the rink was Barry's home. A more beloved ESPN institution there has not been. We love you, Barry. Forever."
Melrose was a second-round pick by the Montreal Canadiens as a defenseman in the 1976 NHL Draft, but he was also selected by the World Hockey Association's Cincinnati Stingers in the WHA Draft. Melrose played three seasons in the WHA before joining Winnipeg for the 1979-80 NHL season. He had 10 goals and 23 assists in his NHL career, playing his last NHL game in 1985-86.
He started coaching a year later, taking the Medicine Hat Tigers to a Western Hockey League title in his first season. After three years in the AHL, he jumped to the NHL to coach the Kings for 2 1/2 seasons. He had a brief, unsuccessful return to coaching with the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2008-09 season, which lasted just 16 games.
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