Bryan Murray
General manager
Born Dec. 5, 1942 (Shawville, Que.) |
 Bryan Murray, 66, was named general manager of the Ottawa Senators on June 18, 2007. The sixth general manager in the Senators’ new era, he will enter his 29th consecutive NHL season. On July 1, 2009, Murray was named executive vice-president of Senators Sports & Entertainment.
Murray was hired as the fifth head coach in Senators history on June 8, 2004. In two-plus seasons at the helm, Murray compiled a 107-55-20 record. In 2007, he led Ottawa to its first appearance in a Stanley Cup final series, losing in five games to the Anaheim Ducks. Murray returned to the head-coaching role in Ottawa on Feb. 27, 2008, relieving John Paddock, and posted a 7-9-2 record over the final 18 games of the 2007-08 regular season.
The Shawville, Que., native came to the Senators from the Anaheim Ducks, where he served as senior vice-president and general manager. Murray was promoted to the posts in May 2002, and went on to transform the Ducks into Western Conference champions in 2002-03. Named the Ducks’ fifth head coach in 2001-02, he spent one season behind the Anaheim bench.
The 2009-10 season will be Murray’s 15th as a general manager, after serving four years with the Detroit Red Wings from 1990 to 1994, six-plus seasons with the Florida Panthers from 1994 to 2000 and two seasons with Anaheim from 2002 to 2004.
Murray began his NHL coaching career with the Washington Capitals on Nov. 11, 1981. He remained at the helm of the Capitals for the next 8 ½ seasons. Beginning with his first full season behind the Washington bench, the club had winning records and averaged 95 points per season over the next seven years. Murray won the Jack Adams Award in 1983-84 as the NHL’s coach of the year.
His 17 years of coaching in the NHL, which also saw seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers, have Murray ranked sixth in the NHL in all-time games coached (1,239) and sixth in wins (620). He coached his 1,000th NHL game with Anaheim on Nov. 28, 2001, and earned his 600th victory on Feb. 20, 2007, with a 4-3 Senators win over Edmonton.
A former student of Macdonald College at McGill University, Murray spent four years as the athletic director and coach at the school. He coached five years in the Canadian Junior Hockey League with Pembroke and Rockland before becoming head coach of the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. In 1979-80, he led the Pats to the WHL championship. Murray then took over as coach of the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears the next season and was named minor league coach of the year by The Hockey News after leading Hershey to its best record in 40 years.
Bryan and his wife, Geri, have two daughters: Heide and Brittany. |
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