- Melrose was a journeyman defenseman who became coach of the Kings in 1992.
- He guided Los Angeles to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season and later joined ESPN.
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Barry Melrose, longtime ESPN hockey analyst and former Los Angeles Kings coach, has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and will retire from the network, according to his former broadcast partner, John Buccigross.
“I have worked with Barry at ESPN for over a quarter of a century,” Buccigross wrote on social media. “Cold beers and hearty laughter in smoky cigar bars (sic). A quick wit, he was always one step ahead and looked like a million bucks. I love it. I’ll miss him.
Best known for guiding Wayne Gretzky and the Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, where they were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens, Melrose, 67, helped educate generations of American hockey fans in as an ESPN analyst.
“I’ve said it a thousand times, I really love playing for Barry,” Gretzky, in his 30s, told reporters while playing for the Kings in the early 1990s.
ESPN broadcaster Barry Melrose attends Game 6 of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final
Melrose was a journeyman defenseman before being hired as coach of the LA Kings in 1992.
Melrose (left) is pictured alongside Kings stars Wayne Gretzky (center) and Luc Robitaille
On Tuesday, ESPN released a tribute to Melrose, narrated by Gretzky himself.
“Barry was hired to be our coach in Los Angeles in 1992 and he was only 35,” Gretzky, 62, said in the video. “He had never coached a game in the NHL, but as soon as he took over, all we did was start winning.
“The first year we went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final,” Gretzky continued. “But a few years after the 1993 finale, Barry found his true calling.”
Gretzky was, of course, referring to Melrose’s arrival at ESPN, where he became the top studio analyst for the network’s fledgling NHL coverage.
Melrose enjoyed success in Los Angeles (right), but struggled during a brief stint in Tampa Bay (left)
Although he returned to the bench for 16 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008-09, Melrose, his trademark suits and famous slicked-back mullet spent nearly three decades with the “World Leader.”
Among the clips ESPN used in its tribute video was one with NBA legend and TNT broadcaster Charles Barkley, who called Melrose “the best analyst on television.”
The sequence ends with an emotional Gretzky acknowledging Melrose’s diagnosis.
“And now he needs our support,” Gretzky said, his voice breaking. “And those in hockey are there for him.”