Bryan Murray (hockey coach)
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Bryan Clarence Murray (Born: December 5, 1942 in Shawville, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian ice hockey coach. He is currently the head coach of the National Hockey League Ottawa Senators. He has also been head coach of the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Florida Panthers, Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals and also head coach of the American Hockey League's Hershey Bears and Western Hockey League's Regina Pats.
Murray, one of ten children of Clarence and Rhoda Murray, was born and raised in the small Ottawa Valley town of Shawville, Quebec. His brother Terry Murray was also an NHL coach. He played hockey growing up, joining the Shawville Pontiacs intermediate club at age fourteen and later joined the Rockland Nats of the Central Junior Hockey League. He attended Macdonald College, a suburban campus of McGill University, which is located in Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Que., and returned to Shawville and worked as a teacher. He then went into business, opening a sporting goods store and buying the local hotel.
He began as a part time coach with Pembroke of the CJHL. He earned a good reputation as a coach and was offered a job by the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. He left his business interests in the hands of family members, and moved west. After taking Regina to the Memorial Cup he moved to the Hershey Bears of the AHL, where Murray won coach of the year. The next year he became head coach of the Washington Capitals.
In seven seasons with Washington Murray brought the team to the playoffs each year, and won the Jack Adams Award in 1984. In 1990 he became coach and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. In four seasons there the team had mixed results, but Murray helped build the team that would be dominant in the later half of the 1990s. He then became General Manager of the expansion Florida Panthers. In 1996 the young Panthers made it to the Stanley Cup finals, and Murray was selected as NHL Executive of the Year. From 2002-2004 Murray was General Manager of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and again saw his team quickly make a mark in the playoffs, reaching the Stanley Cup finals in 2003. In 2004 Murray surprised many by deciding to resign from the GM post in Anaheim and become coach of his hometown Senators.
Murray has been plagued in his coaching career with a lack of success in the playoffs. On February 20, 2007, he became the fifth NHL coach to achieve 600 victories, in a shootout win against the Edmonton Oilers. He is currently the active coach with the most wins in the NHL but he has never won a Stanley Cup.
A native of Shawville, Quebec, Bryan and his wife, Geri, have two daughters, Heidi and Brittany.
[edit] See also
| Washington Capitals Head Coaches |
|---|
| Anderson • Sullivan • Schmidt • McVie • Belislt • Green • Crozier • B. Murray • T. Murray • Schoenfeld • Wilson • Cassidy • Hanlon |
| Detroit Red Wings Head Coaches |
|---|
| Duncan • Adams • Ivan • Skinner • Abel • Gadsby • Harkness • Barkley • J. Wilson • Garvin • Delvecchio • L. Wilson • Kromm • Lindsay • Maxner • Dea • Polano • Neale • Park • Demers • Murray • Bowman • Lewis • Babcock |
| Florida Panthers Head Coaches |
|---|
| Neilson • MacLean • B. Murray • T. Murray • Sutter • Keenan • Dudley • Torchetti • Martin |
| Anaheim Ducks Head Coaches |
|---|
| Wilson • Pagé • Hartsburg • Charron • Murray • Babcock • Carlyle |
| Ottawa Senators Head Coaches |
|---|
| Bowness • Allison • Martin • Neilson • Murray |
| Preceded by Roger Crozier |
Head Coaches of the Washington Capitals 1982–1990 |
Succeeded by Terry Murray |
| Preceded by Jacques Demers |
Head Coaches of the Detroit Red Wings 1990–1993 |
Succeeded by Scotty Bowman |
| Preceded by Doug MacLean |
Head Coaches of the Florida Panthers 1997–1998 |
Succeeded by Terry Murray |
| Preceded by Guy Charron |
Head Coaches of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 2001–2002 |
Succeeded by Mike Babcock |
| Preceded by Jacques Martin |
Head Coaches of the Ottawa Senators 2004- |
Succeeded by none |
