Former Winnipeg Jets defenceman, NHL coach and longtime ESPN analyst Barry Melrose has died at the age of 70 following a battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Melrose was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2023, prompting his retirement from broadcasting after more than 25 years with ESPN.
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A native of Kelvington, Sask., Melrose broke into the NHL in his Canadian prairies, suiting up in parts of two seasons with the Jets during his playing career.
Photo by Kim Klement/USA Today
The rugged defenceman went on to appear in 300 NHL games between Winnipeg, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, recording 10 goals and 33 points while accumulating 728 penalty minutes. Before joining the NHL, Melrose also played three seasons in the World Hockey Association with the Cincinnati Stingers.
“The Winnipeg Jets and True North Sports + Entertainment are saddened to hear of the passing of Jets alumni Barry Melrose,” the team said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences go out to all of Barry’s family and friends across the National Hockey League.”
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While Melrose enjoyed an 11-year professional playing career, his greatest impact on the sport came after hanging up his skates.
He began coaching in 1987 and immediately guided the Medicine Hat Tigers to a Memorial Cup championship. After stops with the Seattle Thunderbirds and AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings, Melrose was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings in 1992.
In his first season behind the Kings’ bench, Melrose coached a Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles squad to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, where it fell to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.
Melrose later became one of hockey’s most recognizable television personalities after joining ESPN in 1996. With his trademark mullet, colourful suits and unmistakable personality, he remained a fixture of the network’s NHL coverage for nearly three decades.
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“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,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
“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.”
Bettman described Melrose as a “hockey original,” offering condolences to his wife, Cindy, sons Tyrell and Adrien and his many friends and colleagues throughout the sport.
Melrose briefly left ESPN in 2008 for another opportunity behind an NHL bench, coaching 16 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning before eventually returning to the network.
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Between playing, coaching and broadcasting, the Saskatchewan product spent five decades as one of hockey’s most colourful personalities.
“We mourn the passing of a hockey original,” Bettman said.
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