Barry Melrose, former NHL coach and longtime ESPN hockey analyst, dies at 70

Playing career and the 1993 finals run

Barry Melrose grew up in Kelvington, Saskatchewan, and played as a defenseman across an 11-year professional career. He appeared in nearly 200 World Hockey Association games and over 300 National Hockey League contests, alongside stints in the American Hockey League. After retiring as a player, Melrose became head coach of the Los Angeles Kings for the 1992–1993 season, Wayne Gretzky's fifth year with the club. In his first NHL coaching season, Melrose guided the Kings to their first Stanley Cup Final. The Kings won Game 1 on the road against Patrick Roy and the Montreal Canadiens and held a late lead in Game 2 before Marty McSorley drew a penalty for an illegal stick. Montreal tied the score, won in overtime, took the next two games in overtime, and sealed the championship in Game 5. Melrose coached two more seasons in Los Angeles before the Kings dismissed him in April 1995.

Transition to broadcasting and ESPN career

Thirty minutes after his dismissal by the Kings in April 1995, ESPN signed Melrose as a studio analyst for the Stanley Cup playoffs. He had first joined network coverage in 1994 for a postseason run that won a Sports Emmy. In October 1996, Melrose became a full-time ESPN analyst for the 1996–1997 campaign, sporting his trademark mullet and colorful suits. Over a 27-year run at the network, he appeared regularly on SportsCenter and NHL studio shows alongside anchors Steve Levy and John Buccigross. Melrose called games for ESPN and ABC Sports from 2000 to 2002, analyzed studio broadcasts for ABC from 2003 to 2004, and covered every Stanley Cup Final for ESPN. He also played himself in the 1999 film Mystery, Alaska, a 2001 episode of Spin City, and the 2002 film Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice.

Diagnosis and retirement

In October 2023, prior to the 2023–2024 NHL season, Melrose announced his retirement after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The decision concluded more than five decades in professional hockey as a player, coach, and analyst. He stepped away from ESPN to focus on his health and his family.

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.

Tributes across the sport

ESPN announced on Wednesday that Melrose died at age 70 after his wife, Cindy, notified the network. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman praised his playing career, coaching tenure, and 27 years at ESPN, sending condolences to Cindy and their sons, Tyrell and Adrien. Buccigross learned of the death while preparing for the season at a rink in Las Vegas.

Barry was my best friend at ESPN. 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.