Barry Melrose and Steve Levy joined some members of the media on a call this morning from Los Angeles where they are covering their 20^th consecutive Stanley Cup Finals for ESPN.

Available: Recording and Script (below)

 EXCERPTS FROM TODAY’S CALL

“I would like to see our athletes’ personality showing more. We have great guys. They are funny guys. They have got great stories.” – Melrose, if he was made NHL broadcasting czar

“The shootout, I would have the guys not wear helmets so that people can see their faces when they are coming in on a shootout. There are so many shootouts now in the NHL, it’s become a big part of the sport, and anything to make that more interesting.” – Melrose, on what he was change in the game

“Nash has been very, very quiet for three rounds. So I really think if the New York Rangers are going to go anywhere — obviously Lundqvist is a story, he’s got to be great —   but one of the forwards that must start putting the puck in the net offensively is Rick Nash.” – Melrose, on a key Ranger in the series

“Chris Kreider, for me, has to be a key factor. I think he’s a rising star in the league. I think in three years he could be a top, top, top guy league‑wide. He’s got unbelievable size, unbelievable strength, and he has the Rangers’ single‑biggest, maybe only, advantage in the series — he’s super fast, he’s lightning fast. — Levy, on a Ranger under the radar

“I love the fact that they went back to the black and gray jerseys. I really love that. They got away from it with the purple and stuff for a while, and they experimented with a lot of different jerseys. So they got back to the Gretzky silver and black. I think that’s awesome.” — Melrose, on the Kings since he coached them

TRANSCRIPT OF TODAY’S CALL

OPENING REMARKS:

STEVE LEVY:  Thanks, everyone, for coming aboard. If questioning our math – ‘Wait a second, Barry started with ESPN in ’94, this should be their 21st Final,’ let me remind you that in 2005 there was no Stanley Cup awarded. In 2005 and ‑‑ I don’t know, the 20s, or maybe 1919 – there was the Spanish influenza epidemic. Those are the only two times ever since the National Hockey League began play that the Stanley Cup was not awarded.

This is the 20th Final for Barry and I. First conversation we ever had was on live national television. It was the night these Kings actually fired him. He was sitting in his home. We did a little video chat on National Hockey Night when we had the rights back in the day.  And I remember saying to Barry — the Kings were playing that night, and I said, ‘Are you going to watch the game and see how your old team does?’

He said, ‘Nope, taking my wife out to supper.’

We’ve become very good friends over the years. I think that camaraderie comes across over the air. We actually enjoy each other’s company. He bought me coffee this morning. I do all his traveling plans. We’ve come up with a good system and we both obviously love and respect the sport so much, and we are very excited about the Stanley Cup Finals.

BARRY MELROSE:  Actually my wife was saying this morning that it’s like we’re married because I grab him a coffee and that’s my job. Even on the 95‑degree days and he’s sweating he wants a coffee. And he takes care of all my travel and my hotel arrangements and stuff.

So it’s a pretty good system that’s worked very, very well for a long period of time obviously. The only thing I can’t understand is how Steve’s hair has stayed so black in 20 years. It’s amazing. He’s got to be like Mediterranean, like something to do with his bloodline from the old days.

Q. For both, if I made you guys the commissioner of NHL broadcasting, what changes would you implement to make the game more television friendly?

STEVE LEVY:  Well, that’s a good question. Obviously the game has come a long way on television. High Definition has made it brilliant. The position of the reporter down in between the benches has added insight.

I think it’s made the broadcasts more difficult, though, for the broadcasters. Back in the day, we didn’t have that privilege of having Barry ringside down between the benches. I think it’s odd as a play‑by‑play guy to not sit next to your partner. It’s really a credit to the guys who do it now every night how they don’t step each other, because you’re not able to tap each other on the shoulder or nod or gesture.

As for what else they can do with the game on television, I really don’t know. They have done everything to speed it up. The games really are quick. They are economical from puck drop to the end of the game — they are really two hours and 20 minutes. So I think the game is headed in a great place. It’s faster than it’s ever been, and that is the job of television to try to bring you inside the building and they have done a great job of it, I think.

BARRY MELROSE: I’ll talk more about on the ice, some things I would like to see done. I would like to see our athletes’ personality showing more. We have great guys. They are funny guys. They have got great stories. I don’t know if anyone knows the Dominic Moore story, what’s happened with Dominic Moore and what he’s went through; what Marty St. Louis has went through. Every team has those stories.I would do a better job of letting people see what our athletes are like.

I would do anything to make the game faster. I think speed is where the game’s at. I think for the American viewer, that’s what they want to see, speed; they want to see things happen at a high pace. So all of the rules I would implement would be to make the game faster. I would continue really stressing the hooking and holding in the neutral zone, take that completely away. Anything to do with slowing people up when they don’t have the puck, I would really enforce.

I would enforce embellishment totally, if a guy embellishes, throw the book at him. It’s embarrassing. Puts referees in a very tough light and it’s totally opposite of what a hockey player is about, trying to cheat like that and pretend you’re hurt and things like that. It’s totally opposite of what a hockey player is brought up thinking hockey is like.

And the shootout, I would have the guys not wear helmets so that people can see their faces when they are coming in on a shootout. There are so many shootouts now in the NHL, it’s become a big part of the sport, and anything to make that more interesting. Fans love it, anyways. Anything to make it more interesting I would use.

And just for a person who is a hockey fan, and not a TV guy, I would have loved to have seen the NHL package split like they do in the other sports; where ESPN has got a piece of it for cable and NBC could have it for national across the airways. I would like to have seen that. It works in the other sports. It works in the NFL. Everybody is trying to emulate the NFL. If it works in the NFL, you would have thought it could work in the NHL, also.

Speed is what our sport is about and anything that could make the game faster, that’s what I believe should happen with our sport.

Q.  I know Barry has background with the L.A. Kings organization, maybe you can offer insight. One of the things I’m looking forward to is following the L.A. Kings Twitter account. I don’t know how active you guys are on Twitter, but it really stands out as probably the best team official account in sports. Others are kind of vanilla; it’s always chirping and always taking shots at other teams and stuff.  I want to get your guys’ opinion on the L.A. Kings Twitter account.

STEVE LEVY: First, I want to say Barry is not active on Twitter if you check his account.  He’ll do a ringing endorsement for Enterprise that someone probably types into his phone.

BARRY MELROSE:  I cut and paste.

STEVE LEVY:  He doesn’t like to check his mentions because he doesn’t like to take anything negative. You can imagine what his mentions look like.

The L.A. Kings, you’re right. I believe their team Twitter account is the first in professional sports to be run by the organization to have a sense of humor; to be like real people, not the politically correct, not be worried about every word that comes out. The tweaking of the Vancouver Canucks was brilliant. For those of you who are not aware, and I hope I get this right, the Canucks had taken umbrage with the Kings taking their slogan, ‘We are all Kings.’ I guess in Vancouver, their slogan was ‘We are all Canucks.’ And the Kings’ Twitter account fired back: ‘Okay, how about we’ll go with, ‘We’re in the playoffs,’ which was obviously, you know, a great shot and a lot of fun.

I follow two team accounts. I followed the Kings for a while, and now I obviously follow the Rangers because of the Stanley Cup final. Usually I stay away from team accounts because they are not going to give me anything I can use because they are going to be right down the middle, no slant, no opinion, unless it’s favored in their direction. But the Kings Twitter account is brilliant.BARRY MELROSE:  He’s already busted me on the Twitter, so that’s fine. I’m not going to lie and say I’m a big Twitter guy.

Luc Robitaille is here, and Luc played for me and I saw him yesterday, and he’s one of my favorite guys. He’s one of the big honchos here in charge of things in L.A. here and Luc has always been a cutting‑edge guy. He’s always been a guy that would try things, even as a player. I remember I brought Tony Robbins into the dressing room and Luc was one of the first guys who really embodied it. He would try it. He would try the stuff Tony was talking about.

So I think when a guy like Luc is in charge of your team and all those things, you’re going to be cutting edge. You will try things. That’s why L.A. now is one of the models and one of the best organizations on the ice and off the ice in the NHL today. They have got people that will try things, and you know, those are the organizations that go places and now they certainly are one of those organizations.

Q.  I heard you mention that one of your career highlights was owning the  Adirondack Frostbite ‑‑ could you could tell us about that?

STEVE LEVY:  It was the Adirondack Frostbite of the United Hockey League, which was not that far different from the old Slapshot Iron League.

BARRY MELROSE: Federal League.

STEVE LEVY:  Federal League, yeah. Barry and I talked about buying or investing in a minor league team. Actually started off being a junior team, because that’s where all the money apparently could be made. We of course went in a different direction on that, and in Glens Falls, New York, which is traditionally a great hockey town. They were forever the top American Hockey League team, the Red Wings. Barry played there, won as a player there. Barry coached there and won as a coach there. And his summer home, I guess now you could say is in Glens Falls New York. He’s lived there for a long time. That became available. We had a big money third investor — obviously it was not the majority of our money.

Bottom line is Barry said he could cut me in for 10 percent, and turned out to be 50 percent of the losses. We had the team for two and a half years. Got to fire the head coach, so there was a lot of enjoyment. Got involved with trades. Got to ride with the guys in bus and skate in morning practice. Kind of like fantasy sports for me. It only cost me 100 grand. Hell of a two-and-a-half years. Thanks, Barry, for that.

BARRY MELROSE: You’re welcome.

Q.  Looking at the series and key players, we talk about Jonathan Quick and Henrik Lundqvist and St. Louis and Dustin Brown, but who are your most underrated players going into the series?

BARRY MELROSE: The Rangers, one guy isn’t underrated, but he hasn’t played well yet, and that’s Rick Nash. Rick Nash has yet to be a factor in the playoffs. I really think that St. Louis has had his moment, scored the overtime winner. Zuccarello has been great.  Brassard has been great. McDonagh has been great. It seems like everybody has had a turn ‑‑ Richards has been great.

But Nash has been very, very quiet for three rounds. So I really think if the New York Rangers are going to go anywhere — obviously Lundqvist is a story, he’s got to be great — but one of the forwards that must start putting the puck in the net offensively is Rick Nash.  You can’t win if your best player isn’t great, and he hasn’t been great so far. So that’s one guy for the New York Rangers.

For the L.A. Kings, I think that Toffoli is just emerging as the star. He’s on that 70s line and it’s getting a lot of ink here, starting to put the puck in the neck. Obviously Kopitar and Gaborik and Carter and all those guys get a lot of ink. But that line has been quietly scoring goals and Carter has been great. And this kid’s been on the radar for a while.  Whenever he goes to the American League, he’s always one of the best players in the American League, and now I think he’s starting to become a fixture in the NHL. Just more depth players for the L.A. Kings.

STEVE LEVY:  Sort of under the radar as well, I think for the Rangers, is Chris Kreider. For me he has to be a key factor. I think he’s a rising star in the league. I think in three years he could be a top, top, top guy league‑wide. He’s really come into his own I think this post‑season, aside from the Carey Price collision, but the guy plays hard. He’s got unbelievable size, unbelievable strength, and he has the Rangers’ single‑biggest, maybe only advantage in the series — he’s super fast. He’s lightning fast. Has good hands in tight quarters around the crease. So I think Kreider is a guy to watch for the Rangers to have success.

For Los Angeles, they are so deep; they have four lines. But if Mike Richards is centering your fourth line, you’re super deep down the middle. Richards is a proven winner in his career. He’s been on a couple of those teams that have comeback from three games down to win a series. He’s a leadership kind of guy. Whenever Jeff Carter goes into a mini‑slump they seem to reunite him, and Carter has been great with that 70s lineup Barry mentioned.  I think Richard and Kreider are two guys to watch for in the series.

Q.  I just wanted to know, how does it feel to see how far the franchise you were a part of, how far it’s come and how much history they are making? Is there anything you are exceptionally proud of?

BARRY MELROSE:  I love the fact that they went back to the black and gray jerseys. I really love that. They got away from it with the purple and stuff for a while, and they experimented with a lot of different jerseys. So they got back to the Gretzky silver and black. I think that’s awesome.

You know what? I saw L.A. in the 90s when we were in the finals, and the Forum was rocking; the city was crazy. My wife and I would go to a restaurant at night and walk in and the place would start clapping. That doesn’t happen unless it’s a hockey town.

People could say that, ‘Well, you can’t win in the south, you can’t win if it’s not hockey weather.’  I always said if you come out after practice and it’s 80 degrees and sunny, that’s a good thing, that’s not a bad thing.

I’m just glad that team that I had in ’93 had a small part — with Gretzky and Robitaille and all the great players we had on that team — it sort of laid the groundwork and showed everyone that you can win in the south and the sunny areas.

And now this team, led by Darryl Sutter, has taken it full circle and now is one of the best organizations in the NHL, and one of the best franchises in the NHL. Them and Chicago,  right now, I have to think are the two best.

Yeah, it’s fun to see people I dealt with and worked with, and come back here and see STAPLES Center packed and see downtown L.A. You know, downtown L.A. is a vibrant place now, built around the STAPLES Center and all the other stuff here. So, it’s great; the outdoor game and everything. It’s great to see what L.A. has become.

STEVE LEVY:  Barry is too modest to say, but he’s beloved in every hockey city we go to, with the exception of maybe Newark, New Jersey. But other than that, he gets extra love here in Los Angeles. So many people come up to him and say they first fell in love with the Kings with obviously Wayne Gretzky and with Barry’s ’93 team that went to the Stanley Cup final.

And that’s what it takes, right. It takes some success, that gets people into the game, and that’s how you really, really develop a long‑term fan base. Obviously winning takes care of the rest. But you should see the reaction people have, still to Barry. ’93, that’s 21 years ago, that’s a long time, but people have long and fond memories of Barry.

Q.  I look at this series as the L.A. Kings, people know Jonathan Quick but they don’t really know a lot of the other guys that stand out as stars.  Who do you think really make the L.A. Kings who they are and make them such a great team?  Who are some of the unsung heroes that people should know watching the series?

BARRY MELROSE:  I’m biased. I was a defenseman, and this guy is not unsung, but to me, he embodies the L.A. Kings and that’s Drew Doughty. This kid, if he’s playing in New York he’s the face of the NHL. He plays the game the way it’s meant to be played. He plays the game in an entertaining style, physical style. He just loves the game, you can tell, and he’s one of the best players in our league.

So if you’re a new person and you’re an East Coast guy and you haven’t been able to stay up late and watch the West Coast teams play, when you’re watching L.A., focus on Drew Doughty, because you’ll fall in love with him and you’ll fall in love with the way he plays.  He just embodies what hockey is meant to be about. I love watching the kid play.

STEVE LEVY: Jarret Stoll is a guy who has got a lot of attention for dating one of our former colleagues — start with that long‑term relationship there — we still love Erin Andrews. He’s a brilliant face‑off man — that will be one of the key matchups in this series, Brian Boyle against Jarret Stoll. Boyle, at one point, was like at 75-percent for the Rangers in the Montreal series. Doesn’t matter almost the line that is out there; those guys will come out to take the key face‑off regardless of zone, regardless of time in games, to try to get the puck possession. So those are the two sort of under‑the‑radar guys to watch for as well, because they are so strong, can play well in all three zones, and again the key face offs.

Jake Muzzin is a guy on the fence. I think he has more goals this post‑season than he did all regular season. He’s been a real nice boost for them. Alec Martinez, you know, he scored the overtime goal to send the Kings to the final. A lot of people wouldn’t be familiar with him.

But look, you don’t get this far, you don’t get to the Stanley Cup Final without sort of under the radar players chipping in and helping, because everyone is so focused on the stars and your game planning for the stars. A guy like Rick Nash, the other team is focusing on every round and therefore you are almost nullified.

Kopitar, for example, offensively, did not have a great series last round, but in essence, he sort of took Jonathan Toews out of the round. So those two superstars sort of neutralized each other and that gives opportunities for other players to step up and come through.

Team depth is very important, and I certainly think the edge and depth top to bottom goes to the Kings.