ESPN's Barry Melrose Retires After Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis
Barry Melrose announced his retirement from hockey commentating as he grapples with his recent Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
“I’ve had over 50 extraordinary years playing, coaching and analyzing the world’s greatest game, hockey,” Melrose, 67, shared in a statement via ESPN on Tuesday, October 10. “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.”
The Canada native started out as a hockey player and later transitioned to coaching before he joined the sports network in 1996. He played with the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. After 11 years on the ice, Melrose started coaching in 1987. He was head coach for several teams including the Los Angeles Kings, who made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in Melrose’s first season.
“I’m beyond grateful for my hockey career, and to have called ESPN home for almost 30 years,” Melrose continued. “Thanks for the incredible memories and I’ll now be cheering for you from the stands.”
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Melrose’s longtime broadcast partner, John Buccigross, was first to announce the news.
“Barry Melrose has Parkinson’s disease and is stepping away from our ESPN family to spend more time with his,” Buccigross, 57, shared via X (formerly known as Twitter). “I’ve worked with Barry at ESPN for over a quarter century. Cold beers and hearty laughs in smokey cigar bars. A razor sharp wit, he was always early & looked like a million bucks. I love him. I’ll miss him.”
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called the analyst “a unique, one-of-a-kind person” in a statement on Tuesday.
“For nearly 50 years, as a player, coach and broadcaster, Barry‘s gigantic personality and trademark style have made our game bigger, more exciting and more entertaining,” Bettman, 71, shared. “His love for hockey is obvious and infectious. And it is impossible to have a conversation with him without a smile on your face.”
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He concluded his statement with a message of encouragement to Melrose: “Barry, we wish you well in this fight and know you will give it everything you have — as you always do.”
Melrose has the support of wife Cindy Melrose, who he married in 1978. They share sons Adrien and Tyrell.
Parkinson’s disease is neurodegenerative disorder that affects the nervous system, according to Mayo Clinic. Like Melrose, comedian Richard Lewis retired from stand-up earlier this year after revealing he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
“Two years ago, I started walking a little stiffly. I was shuffling my feet. I went to a neurologist, and they gave me a brain scan, and I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. That was about two years ago,” Lewis, 75, explained in April. “But luckily, I got it late in life, and they say you progress very slowly if at all. And I’m on the right meds so I’m cool.”
