Former Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray has died after a battle with colon cancer at the age of 74.
Before entering the NHL as the head coach of the Washington Capitals in 1981, Murray spent one season behind the bench of the Regina Pats.
In that 1979-80 season, the Pats finished with a record of 47-24-1 behind players like Doug Wickenheiser, Darren Veitch and Mike Blaisdell.
That team ended up winning the WHL crown defeating the Victoria Cougars in five games to advance to the Memorial Cup,
That tournament was a controversial one as going into the final game of the round-robin, Peterborough had clinched first place overall and with a win over the Quebec champs from Cornwall would play the Pats in the final which would be played at the Agridome.
Cornwall won the game with many believing Peterborough deliberately threw the final game of the round-robin so they would not have to play the Pats and battle a weaker team. The move did not work as Cornwall won the Memorial Cup the next day.
Besides coaching the Capitals, Murray was behind the bench of the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Ottawa Senators where he served as both head coach and general manager. He was the first ever GM of the Panthers and saw the team advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996 before losing to Colorado.
He was also behind the bench of the Senators when they were defeated by Anaheim in 2007.
In his 17 years as an NHL head coach, Murray had 620 wins which places him 10th all-time.
2 comments:
Was a great man.
Remember that night at the Agridome as if it was yesterday. Murray was a class act here and continued that in the pros. Had a chance to speak with him in Ottawa one night several years ago. He had a fondness for Regina!
Dennis
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