Barry Melrose, a former pro hockey player and coach who has been an analyst for ESPN since 1996, said Tuesday he is retiring after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Melrose, 67, played in the WHA as a defenseman with the Cincinnati Stingers from 1976 to 1979 and in the NHL from 1979 to 1986 with the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, according to Pro-Hockey-Reference.com.
He was the coach of the Los Angeles Kings from 1992 to 1995, leading the Kings to the Stanley Cup finals in 1993, and left the broadcast booth to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning for 16 games during the 2008-09 season, The Washington Post reported.
Melrose had an 84-108-29 record as a head coach, according to ESPN.
“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 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’s broadcast partner, John Buccigross, first reported that the analyst was retiring, the Post reported.
“Barry Melrose has Parkinson’s disease and is stepping away from our ESPN family to spend more time with his,” Buccigross wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “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 million bucks. I love him. I’ll miss him.”
“Barry is a unique, one-of-a-kind person. And hockey on ESPN won’t be the same without him,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement posted on X. “For nearly 50 years, as a player, coach and broadcaster, Barry’s gigantic personality and trademark style have made our game bigger, more exciting and more entertaining. His love for hockey is obvious and infectious. And it is impossible to have a conversation with him without a smile on your face. Barry, we wish you well in this fight and know you will give it everything you have — as you always do.”
Melrose cut a distinctive figure on the air with his flashy suits, goatee, slicked-back hair and mullet, ESPN reported. His sharp wit and precise analysis endeared him to hockey fans.
“He’s bigger than any team,” NHL legend Wayne Gretzky said in a video tribute for ESPN. “For decades, he’s been suiting up -- and I mean suiting up -- for the game, for the sport, for hockey. ... You see, hockey is more than a game, it’s a community -- a finely tuned orchestra -- and Barry was our conductor.
“Barry has given so much to the game. And now he needs our support, and all of us in hockey are here for him.”