According to ESPN, former NHL coach and player Barry Melrose has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and is retiring.
What’s Happening:
- Former NHL coach and player Barry Melrose has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and is retiring.
- "I've had over 50 extraordinary years playing, coaching and analyzing the world's greatest game, hockey. It's now time to hang up my skates and focus on my health, my family, including my supportive wife Cindy, and whatever comes next," Melrose, 67, said in a statement.
- "I'm beyond grateful for my hockey career, and to have called ESPN home for almost 30 years. Thanks for the incredible memories and I'll now be cheering for you from the stands."
- Before he joined ESPN in 1996, Melrose was the coach of the Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings. He led them to the Stanley Cup Final in the first of his three seasons.
- In 2008, he stepped away from the network to return to the bench and coach the Tampa Bay Lightning for 16 games.
- Melrose had an 84-108-29 record as a head coach.
- Hockey fans worldwide loved him as the studio analyst for ESPN.
- Often, he worked alongside Steve Levy and John Buccigross on ESPN's hockey coverage. This includes coverage of the All-Star Games, the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the Stanley Cup Final.
What They're Saying:
- "He's bigger than any team," Gretzky said in a video tribute for ESPN. "For decades, he's been suiting up — and I mean suiting up — for the game, for the sport, for hockey. … You see, hockey is more than a game, it's a community — a finely tuned orchestra — and Barry was our conductor.”
- "Barry has given so much to the game. And now he needs our support, and all of us in hockey are here for him."
- "Barry has had a connection to the sport for an astonishing 50 years as a player, coach and analyst, and he has left an indelible mark both on and off the ice," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. "We wish him and his family the very best."
- "I've worked with Barry at ESPN for over a quarter-century," Buccigross posted to X. "Cold beers and hearty laughs in smokey cigar bars. A razor sharp wit, he was always early and looked like a million bucks. I love him; I'll miss him."
- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Melrose's "gigantic personality" made the game "bigger, more exciting and more entertaining."
- "Barry is a unique, one-of-a-kind person," Bettman said. "And hockey on ESPN won't be the same without him. … His love for hockey is obvious and infectious. And it is impossible to have a conversation with him without a smile on your face.”
- "Barry, we wish you well in this fight and know you will give it everything you have — as you always do."