Barry Melrose Disease: Former NHL coach and player and ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose, who has won an Emmy for his coverage of the sport since 1996, announced his retirement on Tuesday after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Over the course of more than half a century, I’ve had the privilege of playing, coaching, and studying hockey, the greatest game in the world. Melrose, 67, said in a statement, “It’s time to hang up my skates and focus on my health, my family, including my supportive wife Cindy, and whatever comes next.”
Barry Melrose Disease: Barry goes of retirement due To Illness
Melrose led the Wayne Gretzky–led Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season as head coach before joining ESPN in 1996. He left the network in 2008 for a 16-game stint as Tampa Bay Lightning coach.
Melrose concluded his time as a head coach with an 84-108-29 record. His goatee, slicked-back hair, and mullet made him an instant icon to hockey fans around the world, but it was his comedic personality and flashy clothes in his work as an ESPN studio commentator that won their hearts.
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
As Gretzky said in an ESPN documentary paying tribute to him, “He’s bigger than any team.” He has donned his hockey uniform for countless games over the years. Barry was the conductor of a tightly knit group of individuals that made hockey into something more than just a game.
Melrose worked alongside Steve Levy and John Buccigross for the most of his career on ESPN’s coverage of ice hockey. The NHL All-Star Game, the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the Stanley Cup Final were all shown.
Parkinson’s disease has forced Barry Melrose to spend more time with his family, thus he will be leaving our ESPN family. For nearly twenty-five years, Barry and I have shared an office at ESPN. Cigar bars are the place to go for a cold one and a good belly laugh.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman once said that Melrose’s “gigantic personality” helped make the sport “bigger, more exciting, and more entertaining.”
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
When Bettman said, “Barry is a unique, one-of-a-kind person,” he meant that this individual has exceptional qualities. ESPN’s hockey coverage will continue to suffer even in his absence. His passion for hockey inspires all around him. When you’re with him, you can’t help but smile.
Melrose began his coaching career in 1987, when his Western Hockey League team, the Medicine Hat Tigers, won the Memorial Cup. He coached the Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League from 1989 to 1992 and the Seattle Thunderbirds in 1988 and 1989.
For 11 years, from 1979 to 1986, Melrose manned the blue line for the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings. In the World Hockey Association, he skated for the Cincinnati Cyclones for three seasons (1976–1979).
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He played in 300 NHL games, notching 10 goals, 33 points, and 728 minutes in the penalty box. He scored 5 goals, had 32 points, and was penalized 343 times in 178 games with Cincinnati in the World Hockey Association.
