Recent PostsOld Grudges Die Hard
September 10, 2026
This morning, I learned that former Jet and WHA player Barry Melrose had passed away at the age of 70 following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. My condolences to his family and friends.
Reading the press release from the NHL and statement from Commissioner Gary Bettman, however, left me enraged.
In his statement, he touched on Melrose’s pro career as a player in the NHL, AHL and WHA. In that order. As if the WHA was at a lower level than even the minor-league AHL. A subtle, yet unmistakable cheap potshot at the NHL’s former rival. Even when talking about someone’s death, he couldn’t resist passing up an opportunity to put down the WHA.
Which again only serves to reinforce just how much of an impact the WHA had on the game. That even more than 47 years after its demise, it remains that much of a thorn in the side of the established NHL that its long-tenured commissioner feels the need to continually mock it.
Little could the WHA’s founding fathers have envisioned what a legacy their startup venture would have.
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