Barry Melrose

Playing career

Melrose began his junior hockey career as a defenceman in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the Weyburn Red Wings for the 1973–74 season. He spent the next two seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Kamloops Chiefs.^[1]

He was selected in the second round (36th overall) of the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft by the Montreal Canadiens^[2] and in the fourth round (37th overall) the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft by the Cincinnati Stingers.^[3] He started the 1976–77 season with the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League, before moving mid-season to the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), where he stayed until 1979.^[1]

Following the demise of the WHA and the subsequent absorption of some of its teams into the National Hockey League (NHL), Melrose joined the Winnipeg Jets for the 1979–80 season.^[4] Melrose made his NHL debut on October 10, 1979, getting an assist on a goal by Morris Lukowich in a 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.^[5]

For the remainder of his playing career, Melrose split time between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings, as well as their assorted AHL affiliates. Melrose spent his final season playing with the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL during the 1986–87 season.^[6]

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 Maple Leafs, assisting on 2 goals and receiving 38 penalty minutes.^[7]

Coaching career

Upon his retirement from playing, Melrose immediately began coaching. He coached the 1987–88 season with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League, leading them to a 44–22–6 record and a Memorial Cup title.^[8]

Melrose coached the next season with the Seattle Thunderbirds before jumping to the AHL and coaching the Adirondack Red Wings. He spent three years with the Red Wings, leading them to a Calder Cup win in the 1991–92 season.^[6]

For the 1992–93 season, the 35-year-old Melrose was hired to coach the NHL's Los Angeles Kings,^[9] leading them, without home-ice advantage in any round, to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games. It was the franchise's first trip to the finals. Melrose's Kings missed the playoffs the next season and then he was fired with seven games remaining in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season.^[10]

The Tampa Bay Lightning hired Melrose as their head coach in June 2008.^[11] 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 when his first 16 games had produced a 5–7–4 record.^[12]

ESPN

Melrose joined ESPN as a guest analyst in the spring of 1994 and 1995 when the Kings missed the playoffs^[13] and permanently in the fall of 1995 as a color commentator and studio analyst alongside hosts John Buccigross and John Saunders. He left ESPN in June 2008 to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning.^[11] After his short stint with the Lightning ended, he returned to ESPN on January 1, 2009, in conjunction with the Winter Classic played between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.^[14] He was also the lead studio analyst on NHL 2Night together with Ray Ferraro along with host Buccigross. The trio also called some NHL games and the Frozen Four championship games together.^[15][16][17]

On October 10, 2023, John Buccigross, Melrose's longtime colleague at ESPN, announced on X that Melrose would be retiring from the network to spend more time with his family after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.^{[18][19][20][21]}

NHL Network

Melrose joined the NHL Network as a contributor in September 2011.^[22]