Barry James Melrose (born July 15, 1956) is a Canadian–American broadcaster and former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player and head coach. Melrose played in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) and

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). After retiring from playing, he became a head coach and is best known for being the coach of the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

in their run to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final. He is a long-time commentator and hockey analyst for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

and contributor for the NHL Network.Barry Melrose « ESPN MediaZone ESPN MediaZone
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Hockey career

Playing career

Melrose began his hockey career as a defenceman in the WCHL with the

Kamloops Chiefs The Kamloops Chiefs were a junior ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia that played in the Western Canada Hockey League from 1973–77. They were founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, and relocated to Seattle, Washington to become t ...

in 1974, where he stayed for two years. He started the 1976–77 season with the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...

of the AHL, before moving mid-season to the

Cincinnati Stingers The Cincinnati Stingers were an ice hockey team based in Cincinnati that played in the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1979 and in the Central Hockey League during the 1979–80 season. Their home arena was Riverfront Coliseum. They are t ...

of the WHA, where he stayed until 1979. Following the demise of the WHA and the subsequent absorption of some of its teams into the NHL, Melrose joined the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

for the 1979–80 season. For the remainder of his playing career, Melrose split time between the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and the Detroit Red Wings, as well as their assorted AHL affiliates. Melrose spent his final season playing with the

Adirondack Red Wings The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the Nation ...

of the AHL during the 1986–87 season. During his NHL playing career, he played 300 games, scoring 10 goals, with 23 assists and 728 penalty minutes. He also played in 7 playoff games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, assisting on 2 goals and receiving 38 penalty minutes.

Coaching career

Upon retirement, Melrose immediately began coaching. He coached the 1987–88 season with the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1970, the team has won two national Memorial Cups, five WHL League Championships and seven Divis ...

of the WHL, leading them to a 44–22–6 record and a

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

title. He coached the next season with the

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington, south of Seattle. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. They play their games at home in acc ...

before jumping to the AHL and coaching the

. He spent three years with the Red Wings, leading them to a

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

win in the 1991–92 season. Beginning with the 1992–93 season, Melrose coached the NHL's

, leading them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in five games. He continued coaching the Kings for two more seasons, finishing both years out of the playoffs and with losing records. He then spent 13 years as a hockey analyst with

. (''NHL Tonight''/''DCI Tonight'') On June 4, 2008, Melrose stated on ''

Pardon the Interruption ''Pardon the Interruption'' (abbreviated ''PTI'') is an American sports talk television show that airs weekdays on various ESPN TV channels. It is hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, who discuss, and frequently argue over, the top stor ...

'' that he missed coaching and would entertain any NHL coaching offers. He stated, "I miss not having a dog in the fight." The

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

hired Melrose as their head coach in June 2008. On October 21, 2008, Melrose recorded his first win as a head coach in over 13 years in a 3–2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. On November 14, 2008, Melrose was fired by the Lightning with a 5–7–4 record.

ESPN

Melrose joined ESPN in 1996 as a commentator and NHL analyst. He left ESPN in June 2008 to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning. After his short stint with the Lightning ended, he returned to ESPN on January 1, 2009, in conjunction with the

Winter Classic The NHL Winter Classic (french: La Classique hivernale de la LNH) is an annual regular season outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on or around New Year's Day, generally in a football or baseball stadium in an area ...

played between the Detroit Red Wings and

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

NHL Network

Melrose joined the NHL Network as a contributor in September 2011.

Personal life

Born in

Kelvington, Saskatchewan Kelvington is a town of 864 residents in the rural municipality of Kelvington No. 366, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Kelvington is located at the intersection of Highway 38 and Highway 49. It is east of Saskatoon. The town w ...

to Norrie and James Melrose, he grew up on a farm outside the town. He is the cousin of former NHL players

Wendel Clark Wendel L. Clark (born October 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. His professional career lasted from 1985 until 2000, during which time he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa ...

and

Joe Kocur Joseph George "Joey" Kocur (born December 21, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is best known for his activities as a fighter and enforcer, as well as being one half of the "Bruise Brothers" with then- Detroit Red Wi ...

and longtime minor league forward Kerry Clark. Melrose currently resides in

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls ref ...

with his wife, Cindy, and the couple have two sons, Tyrell and Adrien. Melrose became an American citizen in March 1998. He has had several minor television and movie roles. Melrose guest starred in a season 5 episode of ''

Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a semi-fictionalized version of the New York City mayor' ...

'', titled "Hey Judith". He appeared in the second ''Slapshot'' movie, '' Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice'', as well as the movie ''

Mystery, Alaska ''Mystery, Alaska'' is a 1999 American sports comedy-drama film, directed by Jay Roach, about an amateur ice hockey team from the fictional small town of Mystery that plays an exhibition game against the National Hockey League (NHL)'s New York Ran ...

'' with Russell Crowe. During his tenure as the Kings head coach, Melrose was featured in a series of

Tony Robbins Anthony Jay Robbins (né Mahavoric, born February 29, 1960) is an American author, coach, speaker, and philanthropist. He is known for his infomercials, seminars, and self-help books including the books '' Unlimited Power'' and ''Awaken the G ...

infomercials.

Career statistics

Coaching record

References

External links

*
Pens Universe: 5 Questions with Barry Melrose
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melrose, Barry 1956 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings coaches Adirondack Red Wings players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian sports announcers Cincinnati Stingers draft picks Cincinnati Stingers players Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Kamloops Chiefs players Los Angeles Kings coaches Medicine Hat Tigers coaches Montreal Canadiens draft picks National Hockey League broadcasters College hockey announcers in the United States People from Kelvington, Saskatchewan Seattle Thunderbirds coaches Sportspeople from Glens Falls, New York Springfield Indians players Tampa Bay Lightning coaches Toronto Maple Leafs players Weyburn Red Wings players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players Canadian ice hockey coaches