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Late at night on 09 September 2026, I was wondering what theme I was going with for the next day’s super-duper late night game when the news came across the phone that the hockey world had lost a true titan from the broadcast world with the passing of Barry Melrose at age 70 due to complications from Parkinson’s disease.

Known as a hard-nosed defenceman who wasn’t afraid to drop the mitts and rack up the penalty minutes, he would move on from playing in the World Hockey Association and later the NHL to coaching where he would guide teams to a Memorial Cup and a Calder Cup.

He’d end up coaching the Los Angeles Kings who had acquired Wayne Gretzky in a trade that still does not sit well in the Great White North but probably did more to make the game relevant in the United States outside of the northern tier of states than anything else in NHL history.

When hockey’s highest point scorer by far plays for a team in a region known far more for sun (and smog!) than the cold and ice, that was a titanic shift that put hockey on the map in the American south which Canes fans have enjoyed since 1997.

The 1993 Kings led by Gretzky and coached by Barry Melrose would end up on a magical run through the playoffs in which they never enjoyed home ice advantage and ultimately made it to the Final where the Montreal Canadiens would end their improbable dream run to take their place in history as the last team from Canada to hoist the Stanley Cup.

But Melrose would ultimately find his true calling in the broadcast booth joining ESPN on “The Deuce” and becoming a mainstay of the “NHL 2 Nite” broadcasts as the lead studio analyst and single-handedly making the mullet relevant again long after David Hasselhoff’s “Knight Rider” went off the air!

One might not always have agreed with his takes or his analysis but Melrose’s sense of humour and infectious laugh and his natural instincts for broadcasting made him one of the best studio guys in the NHL and if his hockey exploits aren’t enough to get him into the Hall of Fame, his time as a builder of the game (particularly in the South) as a broadcaster certainly merits consideration and definitely was worthy of being mentioned during the Zamboni and warm-ups.

It was with Melrose’s legacy in mind that it was a very easy decision to dramatically change things up for tonight thanks to a request on behalf of several Ironclad players for a moment of silence before the game that came to me mere minutes after the news broke of his passing.

My initial thought on how to pull that off was to bookend a quick tribute to Melrose highlighting the 1993 Kings playoff run and his advocacy for the game and the moment of silence with the ESPN theme.

But the more I thought of it and after seeing a few YouTube videos paying tribute to Barry, it became obvious that I could play a few of those videos up to the point of giving the shout-out and calling for the moment of silence right after the warm-ups and before the puck dropped.

And so instead of the usual music, I ran the clips from ESPN and NHL Network followed by personal tributes by Dan Patrick and Linda Cohn over the 1-MC before the moment of silence.

I think Barry would have been very humbled and honoured by the response to the call from the Ironclad players up to the point of the puck dropping between the Phoenix and the Wendigos.

I can tell you without hesitation that I certainly was.

It wasn’t my idea and it ultimately took a form dramatically different than what I’d initially imagined.

And even though the little birdie that chirped that request in my direction doesn’t want any credit for Barry’s tribute, I think it’s fair to say that if there is any credit to be given, it really should be to all of us who play in and support the Ironclad League for whom love of the game and respect for those who have contributed to growing the coolest game on Earth into what it is today exemplifies the very best aspects of sport.

Post-Game

It was after midnight when the final horn went and we were mere hours from the 25th anniversary of the horrific acts perpetrated against our nation on September 11, 2001.

Even though we seem more divided than ever, if we remember nothing else about this day…we should never forget that this country has always been at it’s best and strongest when we come together and stand as one nation no matter where we may have come from or our history or ancestry…that we stand together as one willing to fight the forces of darkness and tyranny and despair to be that country that is the bright shining light on the hill that illuminates a better way for this world.

Of all of the songs in my “after the whistle” Zamboni playlist…there was one obvious choice to send that message loud and clear.