June 24, 2008 · 4:10 PM
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Barry Melrose Announced as Tampa Bay’s New Head Coach

What a pair this guy has.  He did something unheard of in the NHL.  Barry Melrose took more than a decade off from coaching, and got another job.  He’s on the other side of the country this time, going from Los Angeles, CA to Tampa Bay, FL.  Will his time away be beneficial or a burden.  Has ESPN softened his mind for the game?  Only time will tell.

Today, Melrose was announced by the Lightning as the sixth head coach in team history.  He replaces John Tortorella, who was fired on June 3rd after the team finished dead last in the standings.

“I’m especially looking forward to the opportunity to work with great players such as Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos; they’re all such talented and exciting athletes. Most of all, I have missed having a dog in the fight each season, especially at the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”  – Barry Melrose, http://lightning.nhl.com

This is a risky move for the Lightning, one that I think will not pay off.  Melrose has been out of the game of coaching for far too long, and this season will not be a success for him.  You can blame that partly on his noteriety as an analyst on ESPN.  It’s going to be very hard for him to shake that role and ease into his new coaching role.

As for ESPN,  who will replace Barry Melrose?  Anyone?  The USA has lost their version of Don Cherry.*  Will NHL hockey now be relegated to the level of quirky cricket highlights and sports bloopers on the biggest sports network in the world?  Barry Melrose was the last analyst on ESPN that did exclusively hockey, and John Buccigross has his hands in too many other projects around the network to go back to that status.

*Sorry Don.  I know that Barry doesn’t hold a candle to your coverage, but he was the closest thing we had.

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  • http://www.lucasonsports.com Chris

    I think Melrose will be a decent coach for a few years – he will probably bring them back to a bit of respectability but that is it. That being said, I think it is a good hire for a team like Tampa who can leverage his “celebrity” to bring some fans back to the team and the game.

    Steve Levy is actually a great hockey guy that ESPN could tap – but he doesn’t have the charisma or style of Melrose…don’t forget that John Saunders is also a hockey guy – but he is involved with Sports Reporters, NCAA Football and some other stuff.

  • http://www.dailydeke.com Clint Bundrick

    I can’t help but think this is going to be a short-lived disaster and with the number of quality coaches available it’s a questionable hire in my opinion. Don Cherry was actually signed to a deal by ESPN to do coverage during the playoffs. Perhaps it’ll be extended and we’ll get the real deal.

    Also, let us not forget that he has less than 3 seasons of coaching experience and two of which were awful. The other is when the Kings lost in the Stanley Cup final, but it’s logical to look at the roster of that team and wonder how much of it was him. Ultimately, his 79-101-29 record as a head coach is unlikely to improve.

  • http://dailydeke.com Grant Beery

    @Chris, the problem with Levy and Saunders is that they’ve found success in other aspects of the network; they won’t come back to a sport ESPN doesn’t even showcase. I’ve always dreamed of having Gary Thorne do play by play for a hockey game some day again. His talents are wasted doing baseball.

  • http://www.dailydeke.com Clint Bundrick

    Apparently ESPN wants hockey back and we could see them split hockey with Versus next season which would re-unite Gary Thorne, my favorite play-by-play announcer, with the NHL.

  • http://www.dailydeke.com Frederick Beery

    I post this in response. This is how I envisioned the choices going.

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=YGN5Gl0vQIc

  • http://www.dailydeke.com Clint Bundrick

    Dead on