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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Barry Melrose, the former NHL defenseman who led the Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup Final before becoming one of hockey’s most recognizable television analysts, has died at 70.
Melrose died Wednesday, ESPN announced. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2023 and stepped away from broadcasting that year.
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Born July 15, 1956, in Kelvington, Saskatchewan, Melrose was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 1976 NHL Draft. He began his professional career with the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association, playing three seasons before the WHA folded. He then moved to the NHL, making his debut with the Winnipeg Jets in 1979 and later playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings.
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A defenseman known more for his play away from the puck, Melrose played 300 NHL games, finishing with 10 goals and 33 points and accumulating 728 penalty minutes. His WHA career with Cincinnati produced five goals and 32 points in 178 games.
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Coaching offered Melrose a quicker route to prominence. Beginning with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1987, Melrose won the Memorial Cup in his first season behind the bench. He subsequently coached the Seattle Thunderbirds and Adirondack Red Wings, guiding Adirondack to the 1992 Calder Cup championship.
The breakthrough came in Los Angeles.
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Hired by the Kings for the 1992-93 season, Melrose immediately helped transform a team led by Wayne Gretzky, taking Los Angeles through the playoffs and into the Stanley Cup Final in his first season. The Kings defeated Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto before losing to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.
Melrose coached the Kings for two more seasons, missing the playoffs both times before leaving the organization.
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For a generation of American hockey fans, Melrose's next career turn defined his career. He joined ESPN in 1996 and spent 27 years as a studio and game analyst, becoming known for his hockey knowledge, candor, humor, mullet and flamboyant suits.
Melrose covered All-Star Games, the Stanley Cup playoffs and Stanley Cup Finals, regularly working alongside Steve Levy and John Buccigross.
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"Barry was my best friend at ESPN," Buccigross wrote on Twitter/X on Wednesday. "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."
Melrose left ESPN in 2008 to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning, but was fired after the team opened 5-7-4. He returned to ESPN and remained there until his 2023 retirement.
"Barry Melrose was beloved by our team at ESPN and throughout the hockey community," Bill Hofheimer, ESPN's vice president of public relations, wrote on Twitter/X. "He worked for ESPN for nearly three decades. He loved the sport and brought so much enjoyment to fans."
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