Bryan Murray

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Lore & Background

Murray became the head coach of the Ottawa Senators close to his hometown on February 20, 2007. On March 3, 2007, he became the fifth NHL coach to achieve 600 victories, in a 5-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers. Despite this impressive number of victories, Murray never won a Stanley Cup. In his most recent trip to the Finals as head coach in 2007, the Senators team that he coached lost in five games to his former club, the Anaheim Ducks. With the firing of John Muckler on June 18, 2007, Murray was promoted to general manager of the Senators, while assistant coach John Paddock took over the club's head coaching duties. However, on February 27, 2008, following a 15–2 start, which had briefly put the Senators in first place in the Eastern Conference, Murray fired Paddock after the team struggled through a disastrous January and February. Murray stepped in as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2007–08 season, finishing with a 7–9–2 record, with the team ultimately finishing in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. The Senators were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In Their Own Story

Craig Hartsburg was hired as the new coach of the team in June 2008. After the Senators struggled for most of the 2008–09 season, Murray fired Hartsburg after a 7–4 loss against the Capitals. In 48 games as head coach of the Senators, Hartsburg posted a 17–24–7 record. Cory Clouston, head coach of the AHL's Binghamton Senators, the team's top farm club, was hired as interim head coach. Clouston was appointed as head coach with a two-year contract before the next season. Murray signed a three-year contract extension as general manager on April 8, 2011. He fired Clouston and two assistant coaches on April 9, 2011, following the Senators' last game of the season. The team had been beset by injuries to key players such as captain Daniel Alfredsson and star forward Jason Spezza, leading to a mid-season collapse. Murray made a flurry of trades in 2011, after the Senators had fallen out of contention, and promoted many younger players from the team's Binghamton farm club.

Reader's Guide

In 2012, Murray was added to the Shawville Hockey Walk of Fame. In 2015, he was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was added to the Senators' 'Ring of Honour' at Canadian Tire Centre. In July 2014, the Senators website announced Murray was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. On November 13, 2014, Murray announced he had stage 4 colon cancer, which had spread to his liver and lungs. He said 'there is no cure for me at this point' and that he may have had cancer for up to ten years before its detection. On August 12, 2017, Murray died of colon cancer at the age of 74, three years after he was diagnosed. His funeral was held in his hometown at the Shawville United Church and a Celebration of Life was held at the Canadian Tire Centre. Murray was survived by his wife Geri (née Sutton), daughters Heide and Brittany, and granddaughters Emma and Addie. The Senators wore a decal on the side of their helmets in his memory for the 2017–18 season, a red circle, inside of which are his initials, years of birth and death, and a brief description of him as a 'family man, friend, coach, and mentor.' Senators' goaltender Craig Anderson unveiled a new mask for the 2018-19 season which featured Murray's likeness on the left side with the caption '1942-2017'.

Did You Know?

• Bryan Murray was one of ten children born to Clarence and Rhoda Murray.
• He worked as a gym teacher at Pontiac Protestant High School before going into business buying a local motel and starting Murray's Sporting Goods in Shawville.
• His younger brother, Terry Murray, was head coach for the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, and Los Angeles Kings.
• His nephew, Tim Murray, previously served under Bryan as assistant general manager of the Senators, and later served as the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.
• Murray may have had cancer for up to ten years before its detection in 2014.