Хоккейн ертөнцийн томоохон төлөөлөгч, ESPN-ийн удаан хугацааны шинжээч Барри Мелроуз өвчний улмаас таалал төгссөнийг NHL албан ёсоор мэдэгдлээ.
Барри Мелроуз нь NHL-д Виннипег Жетс, Торонто Мэйпл Лифс, Детройт Ред Вингс багуудын бүрэлдэхүүнд нийт 300 тоглолтод оролцож, 10 гоол, 23 оновчтой дамжуулалт гүйцэтгэсэн замналтай юм. Тоглогчийн карьераа өндөрлүүлснийхээ дараа тэрээр дасгалжуулагчийн ажилд шилжиж, 1993 онд Лос-Анжелес Кингс багийг Stanley Cup-ын финалд шалгаруулж байсан түүхтэй. Тэрээр мөн Тампа Бэй Лайтнинг багийг богино хугацаанд удирдаж байв.
Түүний карьерын хамгийн тод үе нь 1996 оноос 2023 он хүртэл ESPN сувагт ажилласан хугацаа юм. Өөрийн өвөрмөц хэв маяг, хоккейн талаарх мэдлэгээрээ дамжуулан үзэгчдэд спортын мэдээллийг хүргэж байсан тэрээр Паркинсоны өвчний улмаас албаа хүлээлгэн өгсөн билээ.
NHL-ийн комиссар Гэри Беттмэн түүнийг хоккейн спортыг хайрлах сэтгэлийг үзэгчдэд түгээгч онцгой эрхэм байсныг дурдаж, гэр бүл, төрөл төрөгсдөд нь гүн эмгэнэл илэрхийлэв. Түүний хамтран зүтгэгчид Барри Мелроузыг хоккейн ертөнцөд асар их хувь нэмэр оруулсан, хүнлэг чанарыг эрхэмлэдэг нэгэн байсныг дурсан ярьж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Barry Melrose, one of the most prominent analysts and ambassadors for hockey in the United States, died Wednesday at the age of 70, the NHL announced.
Melrose played 300 NHL games over six seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, and he took the Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final in his first year as an NHL head coach. But Melrose’s role as an ESPN studio analyst became his legacy in the sport.
Countless American fans were raised on Melrose’s informative but informal segments — often with his longtime friend Steve Levy — during the 1990s and 2000s. With his loud suits and slicked-back mullet, Melrose helped bring hockey to a mainstream audience from 1996 until 2023, when he retired after a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
“From the flowing locks of his distinctive mullet to the flared lapels of his trademark long suit coats, Barry Melrose cut an unmistakable figure whenever you were fortunate enough to run into him at a rink or catch him on your television screen,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “You were even more fortunate if you engaged him in conversation or listened to his analysis, because he never failed to boost your love of the game of hockey.
“We mourn the passing of a hockey original. And we send our deepest condolences to his wife, Cindy, their sons, Tyrell and Adrien, and all of his teammates, colleagues and admirers around the hockey world.”
Melrose was an institution at ESPN, as popular with his hockey-loving colleagues as he was with viewers.
“Barry was my best friend at ESPN,” longtime “SportsCenter” host and NHL play-by-play announcer John Buccigross posted on X. “A big brother figure of rock solid values. I am shook to my core. Barry gave his life to hockey and some of his ESPN family, like me, learned of his shocking death today while at a hockey rink in Las Vegas preparing for the upcoming season. Chilling and fitting — the rink was Barry’s home. A more beloved ESPN institution there has not been. We love you, Barry. Forever.”
The Saskatchewan native was a second-round pick by the Montreal Canadiens as a defenseman in the 1976 draft, but he was also selected by the World Hockey Association’s Cincinnati Stingers in the WHA Draft. Melrose played three seasons in the WHA before joining Winnipeg for the 1979-80 NHL season. He had 10 goals and 23 assists in his NHL career, playing his last NHL game in 1985-86.
He started coaching a year later, taking the Medicine Hat Tigers to a Western Hockey League title in his first season. After three years in the AHL, he took the Kings to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season behind an NHL bench. After missing the playoffs the following year, Melrose was fired during the 1994-95 season. He briefly returned to coaching with the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2008-09 season, but lasted just 16 games.
This story will be updated.
