Thirteen years after he was dismissed as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, Barry Melrose is going to get another kick at the can as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Damien Cox of the Toronto Star has the skinny:It's believed new Tampa owner Oren Koules is the driving force behind the hiring of Melrose, who led the Los Angeles Kings to the the 1993 Stanley Cup final against Montreal. In recent years, the Kelvington, Sask. native has been a featured analyst on ESPN.As Cox later notes, Melrose's departure is going to blow a hole in ESPN's coverage of the NHL, much of which is centered around him. Although he took on a lower profile at the WWL when ESPN declined to renew its contract to carry the NHL in the wake of the lockout, Melrose continued to serve as the network's lead hockey analyst, often appearing online beside ESPN.com contributor E.J. Hradek and hosting a regular podcast called The Melrose Line.
Koules, once partnered with former Columbus president Doug MacLean to buy the Lightning before that collaboration broke up, is looking for a marquee name to help sell and market the club in central Florida. Tampa, which won the 2004 Stanley Cup, missed the playoffs this year.
Melrose's hiring will surprise many NHL watchers, as will his salary, expected to be about $2 million per season.
One wonders what John Tortorella, who after all is still officially the head coach of the Lightning, thinks about this.
Maybe Larry Brooks could ask him?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-01-2008 @ 3:53PM
maarscott said...
It's going out on a limb, but many forget that this is the man that coached a team to the Stanley Cup Finals. Yes, they had Gretzky, but other teams had him too and they didn't even make it close.
I'm gonna say it now, so when the Lightning make the playoffs and do damage next season, I can say it from right now... I told you so. Melrose was not a great player, but he knows how to organize and construct a strategy. He doesn't have Gretzky, he's been dulled by ESPN, the "not all sports" sports network, but it won't take him long to get this team together for a good playoff run. I won't say Stanley Cup, but I will say a definite improvement! Melrose is an excellent choice for the coaches chair. He's got Lecavalier, St. Louis, Ward, and now Mike Smith, who is actually a great Goal tender. If the Lightning will grab defensemen instead of offense in the draft, they'll be in great shape. I blame nothing on coaching or the goaltender. Defense is to blame really. Melrose can shape that up, but it would be a hell of a lot easier to grab some "mouldable players" from the draft who are Elite at defense. I'm tired of seeing Tampa Bay get 5 goals a game and still lose because the defense can't hold off the other team. Then we blame it all on goal-tending. Trust me. I'm a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. Defense is EVERYTHING. If you haven't got Defense, your goose is cooked. Dan Boyle is just one man. He's the star, but he's not a 60 minute player. He's an injured man as well. Give the man some freakin' help!
Blast this if you want and say what you will about Melrose being away from Hockey for so long, but I think you're gonna be really amazed by what Melrose can really do with a team, even with a some big short comings.
Reply
5-31-2008 @ 12:48AM
Mtnskier said...
For the sake of the sanity of the fans in Tampa Bay, I hope this isn't true. I love Barry Melrose on ESPN....I love what he's done to preserve the mullet, as well.
However, for him to coach again at this level has to be nothing more than a desparate ploy to sell tickets.
To wit--the man hasn't coached in the NHL in over 13 years, since being fired early 1n 1995. His only coaching stints since were a couple of one-offs for the team he used to own in the UHL (according to hockeydb.com).
His record in the NHL is hard to characterize as anything but mediocre--82-103-31 (195 points) in 205 regular season games. Even in his only winning season--the Stanley Cup finals season--he was barely over .500, just 39-35-10 (88 points) in an 88-game regular season.
And, anyone who saw the 1993 finals with Montreal must wonder why a team needing defensive help would even allow rumors like this to exist. Kelly Hrudey must still have nightmares and cold sweats when thinking about those games to this day...I know that many fans do--just from watching on TV!!!! That was a total defensive breakdown, something Barry himself has admitted over the years.
Of course, if this does actually happen, can't wait to see his first appearance against the Devils in downtown Newark......
Reply