Barry Melrose Shoots Straight on his Firing

Say one thing about Barry Melrose and the debacle in Tampa: he's not ducking anything. Case in point, his interview last night with Ron McLean on Hockey Night in Canada, in which he essentially owned up to the fact that the problems in the locker room began and ended with his inability to motivate today's hockey player.

I have to admit, it looked a little strange seeing a coach who had just been dismissed talk so straight about his firing in a nationally televised interview a little more than 24 hours the fact. Then again, this is Melrose we're talking about. He's been a creature of the media for longer than he's actually been a head coach, making it more or less impossible for him to run and hide, even in his darkest hour.

Given that things have ended so badly for him in Tampa, it's safe to say that there isn't another NHL franchise that would hire him, and he knows that once his contract with Tampa Bay runs out, the media is where he'll have to make his living once more. So rather than think of this interview as Melrose's last act in Tampa Bay, maybe we should think about it as the first day of the rest of his life. Expect to see Melrose back in the studio in time for next season -- or sooner.

(HT: From the Rink)