Barry Melrose, NHL coach and ESPN broadcaster, dies at 70

Barry Melrose, the hockey player who became one of the sport's most recognizable broadcasting voices, died Wednesday at 70. ESPN announced his death after his wife notified the network.

Melrose's path to prominence began in rural Kelvington, Saskatchewan, where he grew up before breaking into professional hockey with the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association in 1976. He spent three seasons there, including a stint alongside a young Mark Messier, before the league folded and he moved to the NHL with Winnipeg in 1979. Over six seasons in the league, he played for Winnipeg, Toronto, and Detroit, accumulating 10 goals and 33 points across 300 regular-season games before retiring after the 1985-86 season. His playing career was marked more by physicality than scoring prowess—he racked up 728 penalty minutes in that span.

After hanging up his skates, Melrose turned to coaching and found immediate success. He led the Adirondack Red Wings to an American Hockey League championship in 1992, earning a promotion to the Los Angeles Kings the following year. In his first season behind the bench, Melrose coached a Kings roster anchored by Wayne Gretzky on a surprising run to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final. The team fell short against Montreal in five games, but the playoff run announced Melrose as a coach of considerable skill. He remained in Los Angeles for two-plus seasons before being fired midway through the 1994-95 campaign, finishing with a record of 79 wins, 101 losses, and 29 ties.

It was in broadcasting where Melrose would build his lasting reputation. Hired by ESPN in 1996, he spent nearly three decades as an analyst, becoming instantly recognizable for his slicked-back hair, goatee, and flared-lapel suits—a look that defined him as much as his voice. His approach to the game was refreshingly candid and laced with humor, making hockey accessible to viewers who might otherwise have found the sport's technical minutiae impenetrable. "For decades, Barry Melrose was one of the most distinctive and trusted voices in hockey," ESPN said in a statement after his death. "His knowledge of the game was deep, his candor was refreshing and his passion was unmistakable."

In 2008, Melrose briefly returned to coaching with the Tampa Bay Lightning during Steven Stamkos' rookie season, but he was fired after just 16 games and a 5-7-4 record, returning to the broadcast booth where he remained until 2023. That year, he stepped away from his analyst role after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Wayne Gretzky, the player Melrose had coached in Los Angeles three decades earlier, released a statement at the time saying Melrose was "bigger than any team."

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman remembered Melrose as a figure who transcended the sport itself. "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."

Beyond professional hockey, Melrose was celebrated in his Saskatchewan hometown for his prowess in fast-pitch softball. He joined fellow Kelvington-area NHL players including Wendel Clark, Joey Kocur, Kelly Chase, and Kevin Kaminski in forming an offseason team that earned a reputation as formidable competition. The combination of his athletic gifts, his distinctive presence, and his genuine passion for the game left an imprint that extended well beyond the rink.