ESPN’s Barry Melrose Loves Vegas – And Golden Knights, Too

 

By ALAN SNEL

LVSportsBiz.com

 

Washington, D.C. — He was relaxing on a couch in the Grand Hyatt lobby in downtown Washington D.C. Saturday morning around 10:30 a.m. And when asked to chat about the impact of the Vegas Golden Knights on the National Hockey League, crisply-dressed Barry Melrose was happy to oblige.

 

The ESPN hockey analyst said he attended every Stanley Cup Finals for the past quarter-century and said the league’s 31st franchise has set the standard for putting on a show when it comes to staging a Stanley Cup Finals game.

 

Melrose, who played with Knights coach Gerard Gallant in the minors and at the Detroit Red Wings, said Nashville did a great job in last year’s Cup Finals at blending in the market’s country music reputation into the start of the games. And Melrose recalled it was a fun, lively Finals atmosphere where people were even betting on who would sing the national anthem at the Predators-Penguins games in Nashville.

 

But Vegas, Melrose told LVSportsBiz.com, has taken the pregame show, arena atmosphere and fan experience to a whole new level.

 

“I want to see that show,” Melrose said as the Knights and Washington Capitals prepare to play SCF Game 3 in Capital One Arena Saturday. “It’s entertaining. It’s fun.”

 

Melrose, now 61 and a Kelvington, Saskatchewan native, coached the Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals before joining ESPN as an NHL commentator in 1996. He left broadcasting in June 2008 to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning, but was canned by the Lightning in November 2008.

 

Melrose agreed with LVSportsBiz.com that the Golden Knights’ over-the-top theatrics with celebrity-laden in-game entertainment helps broaden hockey’s appeal to a wider demographic in Las Vegas.

 

“Once people see it in person, they get sucked into it. It’s the best sport to see in person,” he said.

 

Here’s a three-minute interview with Melrose this morning.

 

Melrose praised the team’s approach to marketing, saying the Golden Knights have scored big off the ice because it has adhered to Vegas’ entertainment ethos and didn’t play by the traditional hockey marketing rules.

 

“Its social media is the best,” Melrose said.

 

He said the entire Golden Knights season has been unique because the Oct. 1 shooting massacre on the Strip has been emotionally interwoven into the Knights’ inaugural year.

 

But the team’s performance has turned into the best marketing off all, Melrose said.

 

“Winning is still the best marketing tool,” Melrose said. “I’m not sure the entertainment would be so funny if the team was 0-20.”

 

The Golden Knights have broken the rules when it comes to game presentation. In February, the Golden Knights became the first major league team to have a couple get engaged AND get married at the same game.

 

“It’s turning into Bull Durham,” Melrose joked. “The Golden Knights are new and there are no rules.”

 

The Golden Knights do include several traditional Canadian hockey rink features such as the 50/50 raffle that the VGK runs as a 51/49 raffle.

 

The raffle is a “very Canadian, small rink thing. The money that’s raised pays for things at the rink,” Melrose pointed out.

 

Melrose also said the Finals offers terrific story lines, such as Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee serving as the Capitals’ GM for so many years before being fired in April 2014. Golden Knights owner Bill Foley said it took him only 15-20 minutes interviewing McPhee to realize he was the man for the job in Las Vegas.

 

McPhee also played at Bowling Green University with Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan.

 

Another connection: Melrose noted he played in the minors with the Knights’ coach, Gallant.

 

 

And he revealed a humorous story about Gallant, known as Turk, about his first nickname in the minors. (Melrose calls Gallant, “Gerry,” during this interview.)

 

Melrose said that since Gallant was from potato-producing Prince Edward Island — considered the Idaho of Canada — Gallant was dubbed, “Spud,” by his minor league teammates when he joined the squad.

 

“Since he was from PEI, which is Idaho in Canada, he was called, ‘Spud,’ ” Melrose recalled. “He’s had a great season. He has pushed every right button and the guys love playing for him. They’re three wins away from winning the Stanley Cup.”

 

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