Barry Melrose, the Saskatchewan-born defenceman who coached Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final and then spent 27 years as one of hockey’s most recognizable television voices, died Wednesday at the age of 70, the National Hockey League said.
ESPN, where Melrose worked as an analyst across three decades, confirmed the death. His wife, Cindy, confirmed the news to ESPN broadcaster Steve Levy. No cause was given. Melrose retired from the network in 2023 after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“I’ve had over 50 extraordinary years playing, coaching and analyzing the world’s greatest game, hockey,” Melrose said at the time of his retirement, in a statement carried by NHL.com. “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.”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, in a statement released by the league, called Melrose “a hockey original” and said his influence was felt as much in conversation as on the air.
“From the flowing locks of his distinctive mullet to the flared lapels of his trademark long suit coats, Barry Melrose cut an unmistakable figure whenever you were fortunate enough to run into him at a rink or catch him on your television screen,” Bettman said. “You were even more fortunate if you engaged him in conversation or listened to his analysis, because he never failed to boost your love of the game of hockey.”
Melrose was born July 15, 1956, in Kelvington, Sask., the small east-central farming town that also produced Wendel Clark and Joe Kocur. The Montreal Canadiens selected him in the second round, 36th overall, of the 1976 NHL Draft.
He made his NHL debut on Oct. 10, 1979, with the Winnipeg Jets, picking up an assist on a Morris Lukowich goal in a 4-2 loss at Pittsburgh. He went on to play 300 NHL games for the Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, appearing in his final game on Feb. 1, 1986. Bettman described the full arc as an 11-year professional career spread across the NHL, the American Hockey League and the World Hockey Association.
The coaching career came quickly, and it came with trophies. Melrose took over Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League in 1987-88 and won the Memorial Cup in his first season. He later moved to Adirondack of the AHL and won the Calder Cup in 1991-92.
That earned him the Kings job for 1992-93. Los Angeles went 39-35-10 that season, third in the Smythe Division, then went on the deepest playoff run in franchise history to that point. The Kings eliminated the Calgary Flames in six games, the Vancouver Canucks in six and the Maple Leafs in a seven-game Campbell Conference final before losing the Stanley Cup Final in five games to Patrick Roy and the Canadiens.
Behind Gretzky, that roster included Rob Blake, Luc Robitaille and goaltender Kelly Hrudey. Melrose coached two more seasons in Los Angeles and missed the playoffs both times.
He joined ESPN in 1996 and stayed, apart from one interruption, for the rest of his working life. In 2008 he left to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning, was fired 16 games into the season with a 5-7-4 record, and returned to the network.
Working alongside Levy and John Buccigross, Melrose covered all-star games, the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Cup Final, and won an Emmy Award for his work.
Gretzky, in a video recorded the day Melrose disclosed his Parkinson’s diagnosis, said his old coach had outgrown any one organization. “He’s bigger than any team,” Gretzky said. “For decades, he’s been suiting up, and I mean suiting up, for the game, for the sport, for hockey.”
Buccigross wrote on X on Wednesday that he learned of the death while at a rink in Las Vegas preparing for the coming season. “Barry was my best friend at ESPN,” he wrote. “A big brother figure of rock solid values. I am shook to my core.”
Melrose is survived by his wife, Cindy, and their sons, Tyrell and Adrien.
Elsewhere in the league Wednesday, the NHL reported the death of Andre Pronovost, a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Canadiens, at 90. The Anaheim Ducks placed forward Chris Kreider on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination, a move TSN reported will clear $6.5 million in salary cap space and make the 35-year-old an unrestricted free agent once the transaction is processed.
Sources: NHL.com, ESPN, TSN. Photo: Coberst via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
