Former ESPN colleague Dan Patrick believes broadcaster Barry Melrose deserves to be in the NHL Hall of Fame.
Melrose, 67, was recently diagnosed as suffering with Parkinson disease, and will be stepping away from covering hockey.
“If there’s somebody out there affiliated with the Hockey Hall of Fame, I’d be more than happy to speak on his behalf,” he said on his show, The Dan Patrick Show this week.
“Barry Melrose deserves to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame,” he continued.
Melrose played for the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings among other teams between 1979 and 1986.
“I’ve never met a more professional person in my career at ESPN than Barry Melrose. He would drive over an hour every single day that he would come in, always in his suit, ready to go. Always. I never saw him in anything but a suit,” Patrick said.
Before embarking on a career in broadcasting he was a successful coach, taking the LA Kings to the Stanley Cup in 1993.
He went into broadcasting in 1986 before briefly stepping away to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“He was always willing — you needed him on radio, you needed him on ESPN News, whatever — you needed somebody to talk hockey and he was there.”
Tributes have poured in for Melrose, with calls rising out for his Hall of Fame status.
