ESPN’s coverage of the NHL won’t be the same going forward.
It was announced on Tuesday, the first day of the 2023-24 NHL regular season, that longtime ESPN hockey commentator Barry Melrose is retiring from broadcasting due to health issues.
“I’ve had over 50 extraordinary years playing, coaching and analyzing the world’s greatest game, hockey,” Melrose said in a statement. “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.
“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.”
Melrose is a hockey lifer. Before ESPN, he played professionally from 1976 to 1987, starting his career in the WHA before making the transition to the NHL. He played 300 games in the NHL across three teams, the original Winnipeg Jets, the Maple Leafs and the Red Wings.
After retiring from playing, Melrose joined the coaching ranks of the WHL before getting a crack at an NHL head coaching job with the Kings. When he was let go by Los Angeles in 1995, he joined ESPN as a commentator and analyst, a position he held for 13 seasons.
Melrose briefly re-joined the NHL coaching ranks, taking the…
