Saskatchewan-born NHL coach and broadcaster Barry Melrose dies at 70
Barry Melrose portrait, hosted by NHL.com and credited there to Rich Arden
Photo: ESPN
Barry Melrose, the Saskatchewan-born former NHL player and coach who later became one of hockey television’s most recognizable analysts, has died at age 70.
The NHL confirmed Melrose’s death on Sept. 10, saying he died the previous day. Melrose was born in Kelvington, Sask., and went on to a career that included 300 NHL games as a defenceman, a trip to the Stanley Cup Final as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and nearly three decades as a hockey analyst with ESPN.
Melrose was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 1976 NHL draft, 36th overall. He played professionally in the World Hockey Association, American Hockey League and NHL, appearing in 300 NHL games with the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings between 1979 and 1986.
After retiring as a player, Melrose moved into coaching. He began behind the bench with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1987-88 and led the team to a Memorial Cup championship in his first season. He later coached the Adirondack Red Wings to a Calder Cup championship in the American Hockey League.
Melrose became head coach of the Los Angeles Kings in 1992. In his first NHL season behind the bench, he led a Kings team featuring Wayne Gretzky to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, where Los Angeles lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.
He coached the Kings for three seasons before moving into broadcasting and joined ESPN in 1996. Known for his mullet, suits and sense of humour, Melrose became a prominent part of the network’s NHL coverage and remained with ESPN for 27 years, apart from a brief return to coaching with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008.
Melrose retired from ESPN in October 2023 after announcing that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Wendel Clark, also from Kelvington, was Melrose’s cousin. The NHL published a remembrance from Clark following Melrose’s death.
ESPN issued a statement Thursday mourning the death of its longtime hockey analyst.
Across his NHL coaching career, Melrose posted an 84-108-29 record with four overtime losses in 225 regular-season games.
A historic mine opening near Rossland’s Kootenay Columbia Trail will be permanently sealed, with a three-week trail closure beginning Sept. 28 so crews can complete the work.