Barry Melrose, former coach and beloved ESPN hockey analyst, dies at 70 — SkimNews
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- Barry Melrose died Wednesday at 70, with his wife Cindy notifying ESPN's Steve Levy; a 2023 Parkinson's disease diagnosis had already forced his retirement from broadcasting.
- Melrose joined ESPN in 1996 and spent over 25 years as a studio analyst, recognizable for his flashy long suit coats, goatee, slicked-back hair and signature mullet.
- Melrose coached the Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings from 1992 to 1995, reaching the 1993 Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.
- Melrose posted an 84-108-29 record as an NHL head coach, briefly leaving ESPN in 2008 to bench the Tampa Bay Lightning for 16 games before returning to the booth.
- Melrose played 11 NHL seasons as a defenseman with the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings (1979-1986), racking up 728 penalty minutes in 300 games, and earlier played three WHA seasons in Cincinnati alongside a teenage Mark Messier.
- Melrose's coaching resume reached back further than his ESPN fame — he won the WHL's Memorial Cup with Medicine Hat in 1987 and the AHL's Calder Cup with Adirondack in 1991.
- Wayne Gretzky called Melrose "our conductor" of hockey at his retirement, while ESPN colleague John Buccigross learned of the death at a Las Vegas rink and wrote: "Barry was my best friend at ESPN."
Why it matters: ESPN's hockey coverage loses a 25-year fixture whose flamboyant style helped define how a generation of American fans consumed the sport, and the league loses a championship-tested coach at every level (WHL Memorial Cup 1987, AHL Calder Cup 1991, NHL Cup Final 1993) whose Parkinson's diagnosis in 2023 had already ended his on-air run.
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