ESPN's Barry Melrose, hockey icon, steps away after Parkinson's diagnosis

Barry Melrose is stepping away from ESPN after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, colleague John Buccigross shared on social media Tuesday.

“Melrose has Parkinson's disease and is stepping away from our ESPN family to spend more time with his,” Buccigross said.

In the statement, Buccigross praised Melrose for his “razor-sharp wit,” always being on time and looking like a million bucks.

Indeed, Melrose stood out during his broadcasting career, in part because of a mullet that became his trademark.

The 67-year-old played 300 regular-season and seven playoff games in the NHL, suiting up for the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings, while also spending a substantial time in the WHA (178 regular season, five playoff games).

His career NHL stats were as throwback as his hairstyle: 10 goals and 33 points and an astonishing 728 penalty minutes.

After his playing career wrapped up in 1986-87, Melrose jumped to coaching, working his way up to the NHL level. He memorably coached Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings from 1992-93 to 1994-95, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 1993. After a move to broadcasting, Melrose briefly returned to coaching with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008-09, lasting just 16 games.

Of course, most hockey fans recognize Melrose from his decades of work at ESPN, growing in many respects to become the face of the sport on the network.

He first began with ESPN in 1994, becoming a full-time hire in 1996. Aside from leaving the network for that stint as Lightning head coach, Melrose has been a fixture at the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.”

In the United States, about 1 million people live with Parkinson’s disease. Worldwide, it’s estimated that more than 10 million people deal with the disease. It’s considered the 14th most common cause of death in the U.S. and is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease behind Alzheimer’s.