Bob Murray (ice hockey, born 1954)

Robert Frederick Murray (born November 26, 1954) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He most recently served as the general manager of the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Murray played in the NHL from 1975 to 1990 as a defenceman with the Chicago Black Hawks. He played in two NHL All-Star Games and helped the Black Hawks reach the NHL playoff semifinals five times in a nine-year stretch.

Bob Murray
Born (1954-11-26) November 26, 1954 (age 69)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb)
PositionDefence
ShotRight
Played forChicago Black Hawks
NHL draft52nd overall, 1974
Chicago Black Hawks
WHA draft77th overall, 1974
Cincinnati Stingers
Playing career1974–1990

Playing career

Junior hockey

Murray played for the Cornwall Royals of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) from 1971 to 1974. He won a Memorial Cup in 1972. After scoring 99 points as a defender in his final junior season, he was drafted 52nd overall by the Black Hawks in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft.

Professional hockey

After playing with the Dallas Black Hawks of the Central Hockey League in 1974–75, he joined the Chicago Black Hawks for the 1975–76 season. After developing a leadership role with the team, Murray served as Chicago's interim captain for two months of the 1985–86 season (November 1985 to January 1986) while captain Darryl Sutter was out of the lineup with an injury. Other than starting the 1988–89 season briefly in the IHL, Murray spent 15 consecutive seasons with Chicago, finishing his career with a postseason loss to the Edmonton Oilers on May 12, 1990.

In 1,008 career NHL games, Murray amassed 132 goals and 382 assists. As a member of the Campbell Conference team, he appeared in both the 33rd National Hockey League All-Star Game in February 1981 and the 35th National Hockey League All-Star Game in February 1983.

Post-playing career

The Blackhawks hired Murray as their director of player personnel in 1991, and he became the sixth general manager in Blackhawks' history on July 3, 1997. He served as general manager of the Blackhawks from 1997 to December 1999, when he was fired 22 games into his third season with Chicago in last place in the Central Division.[1] Murray briefly worked as a scouting consultant for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim before becoming a professional scout for the Vancouver Canucks from 1999 to 2005.

On July 14, 2005, Murray became the Ducks' senior vice president of hockey operations, working with Anaheim general manager Brian Burke and overseeing all aspects of player development. He won the Stanley Cup in this role with the Ducks in 2007.[citation needed]

Murray replaced Burke as the Ducks' general manager on November 12, 2008, when Burke abruptly left the job to become the Toronto Maple Leafs' general manager and president later in the month. The Ducks made the Stanley Cup playoffs in eight of Murray's first 10 seasons in charge, reaching two Western Conference finals and winning five consecutive Pacific Division titles from 2012 to 2017. Murray won the NHL's Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year award for the 2013–14 season[2] after the Ducks finished atop the Western Conference with a franchise-record 116 points.

On February 10, 2019, Murray fired head coach Randy Carlyle for the second time in their Anaheim careers and assumed the head coaching position himself for the final 26 games of the 2018–19 season.[3] Murray returned exclusively to the front office later that summer, hiring Dallas Eakins as the Ducks' new head coach.[4]

On November 9, 2021, Murray was placed on administrative leave by the Anaheim Ducks pending the results of an ongoing investigation.[5] The investigation is reportedly focused on Murray's alleged history of verbal abuse to players and staff members.[6] The following day, November 10, Murray resigned from his position and informed the team he planned to enter treatment for alcohol abuse.[7] At the time of his resignation, Murray was the third-longest[citation needed] tenured general manager in the league.

Less than five months later, in February 2022, Murray reportedly joined the Calgary Flames as a scout.[8]

Career statistics

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1971–72Cornwall RoyalsQMJHL62144963881626818
1971–72Cornwall RoyalsM-Cup31126
1972–73Cornwall RoyalsQMJHL329263534121212243
1973–74Cornwall RoyalsQMJHL632376998850666
1974–75Dallas Black HawksCHL751443571301026813
1975–76Chicago Black HawksNHL6412344
1976–77Chicago Black HawksNHL771011217120112
1977–78Chicago Black HawksNHL701417314141452
1978–79Chicago Black HawksNHL791932513841016
1979–80Chicago Black HawksNHL741634506072466
1980–81Chicago Black HawksNHL771347609330002
1981–82Chicago Black HawksNHL4582230481516716
1982–83Chicago Black HawksNHL7973239711323510
1983–84Chicago Black HawksNHL781137487853146
1984–85Chicago Black HawksNHL8053843561536920
1985–86Chicago Black HawksNHL80929387530220
1986–87Chicago BlackhawksNHL79638448041014
1987–88Chicago BlackhawksNHL62620264451342
1988–89Saginaw HawksIHL18371014
1988–89Chicago BlackhawksNHL15246271623522
1989–90Chicago BlackhawksNHL495192445162468
NHL totals1,008132382514871112193755106

Head coaching record

TeamYearRegular seasonPostseason
GWLOTLPtsFinishWLWin%Result
ANA2018–192614111296th in PacificMissed playoffs
Total261411129  

Awards

See also

References

Preceded by Chicago Black Hawks captain
1985–86
During injury to Darryl Sutter
Succeeded by
Darryl Sutter
Preceded by General manager of the Chicago Blackhawks
1997–1999
Succeeded by
Bob Pulford
Preceded by General manager of the Anaheim Ducks
20082021
Succeeded by
Jeff Solomon
Interim
Preceded by Head coach of the Anaheim Ducks
(interim)

2019
Succeeded by