Barry Melrose, a former NHL coach and player and an Emmy Award-winning hockey analyst for ESPN since 1996, announced his retirement on Tuesday after learning he has Parkinson’s disease.
“I’ve had over 50 extraordinary years playing, coaching, and analyzing the world’s greatest game, hockey. It’s now time to hang up my skates and focus on my health, my family, including my supportive wife Cindy, and whatever comes next,” Melrose, 67, said in a statement.
“I’m beyond grateful for my hockey career, and to have called ESPN home for almost 30 years. Thanks for the incredible memories and I’ll now be cheering for you from the stands.”
Melrose coached the Wayne Gretzky–led Los Angeles Kings for three seasons before joining ESPN in 1996, and he led the team to the Stanley Cup Final in his debut season. In 2008, he took a break from the network to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning for 16 games.
Melrose finished his head coaching career with an overall record of 84-108-29. But it was in his role as an ESPN studio commentator that hockey fans all over the world fell in love with his funny demeanor, flashy outfits, and instantly recognized goatee, slicked-back hair, and mullet.
Gretzky stated of him in an ESPN tribute film, “He’s bigger than any team.” For many years, he has put on his hockey gear in preparation for competition. Hockey is more than just a sport; it’s a tight-knit group of people who play together like an orchestra, and Barry was the man at the helm.
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“Barry has given so much to the game. And now he needs our support, and all of us in hockey are here for him.”
“Barry has had a connection to the sport for an astonishing 50 years as a player, coach and analyst, and he has left an indelible mark both on and off the ice,” Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN. “We wish him and his family the very best.”
Melrose spent much of his career collaborating with Steve Levy and John Buccigross on ESPN’s coverage of ice hockey. This included broadcasts of the NHL All-Star Game, Stanley Cup playoffs, and the Stanley Cup Final.
NEWS: Barry Melrose has Parkinson’s disease and is stepping away from our ESPN family to spend more time with his. I’ve worked with Barry at ESPN for over a quarter century. Cold beers and hearty laughs in smokey cigar bars.
“I’ve worked with Barry at ESPN for over a quarter-century,” Buccigross posted to X. “Cold beers and hearty laughs in smokey cigar bars. A razor-sharp wit, he was always early and looked like a million bucks. I love him; I’ll miss him.”
NEWS:
Barry Melrose has Parkinson’s disease and is stepping away from our ESPN family to spend more time with his. I’ve worked with Barry at ESPN for over a quarter century. Cold beers and hearty laughs in smokey cigar bars. A razor sharp wit, he was always early & looked like a… pic.twitter.com/gjjSAEuG2s
— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) October 10, 2023
Commissioner of the National Hockey League Gary Bettman once remarked that Melrose’s “gigantic personality” made hockey “bigger, more exciting, and more entertaining.”
What Bettman meant when he declared, “Barry is a unique, one-of-a-kind person,” was that the man was special. Even without him, ESPN’s coverage of hockey won’t be the same. The enthusiasm he has for hockey is contagious. And you can’t talk to him without breaking into a broad grin.
“Barry, we wish you well in this fight and know you will give it everything you have — as you always do.”
Melrose got his start in the coaching profession in 1987, when he won the Memorial Cup with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League. In addition to his time with the Adirondack Red Wings, he coached the Seattle Thunderbirds in 1988–1989 and the Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League from 1989–1992.
Melrose was a defenseman for the National Hockey League’s Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings (1979–1986) for 11 seasons. In the WHA, he spent three years (1976–1979) with the Cincinnati Cyclones.
In 300 career NHL games, he recorded 10 goals, 33 points, and 728 penalty minutes. In 178 games with Cincinnati, he recorded 5 goals, 32 points, and 343 penalty minutes in the WHA.
