ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose, 67, announces retirement following Parkinson's diagnosis

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

The 2023-24 NHL season will begin without one of the sport's most prominent analysts dissecting the game.

Barry Melrose, who has been with ESPN since 1996, announced Tuesday, the day of the start of the NHL season, that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and will retire.

"I've had over 50 extraordinary years playing, coaching and analyzing the world's greatest game, hockey. It's now time to hang up my skates and focus on my health, my family, including my supportive wife Cindy, and whatever comes next," Melrose, 67, said in a statement. 

"I'm beyond grateful for my hockey career, and to have called ESPN home for almost 30 years. Thanks for the incredible memories, and I'll now be cheering for you from the stands."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Barry Melrose sits on a panel for the pregame show before the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena June 3, 2015, in Tampa, Fla. (Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

Before joining broadcasting, Melrose played in six NHL seasons for three different teams, but he became a prominent head coach following his playing days.

Melrose coached Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings to a Stanley Cup Final in 1993, his first behind an NHL bench. 

He joined ESPN three years later but briefly returned to the bench in 2008 to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was fired after just 16 games. In his brief coaching career, he went 84-108-29-4.

It did not take long for Melrose to return to the studio, though, and he was back at ESPN in time for the 2009 Winter Classic.

"He's bigger than any team," Gretzky