Terry Rodney Murray (born July 20, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings.

Terry Murray
Born (1950-07-20) July 20, 1950 (age 74)
Shawville, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for California Golden Seals
Philadelphia Flyers
Detroit Red Wings
Washington Capitals
Coached for Washington Capitals
Philadelphia Flyers
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
Buffalo Sabres (assistant)
NHL draft 88th overall, 1970
California Golden Seals
Playing career 1970–1982
Coaching career 1983–2019

Playing career

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Murray was born in Shawville, Quebec. A defenceman in his playing days, Murray was drafted by the California Golden Seals in the 1970 NHL Entry Draft. He played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, and Washington Capitals.

Coaching career

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Following his final season as an active player in 1981–82, he became an assistant coach for his brother Bryan Murray, then the Capitals' head coach, establishing the NHL's first brother coaching combination.

Murray later served as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Baltimore Skipjacks. He was promoted to the Capitals head coach position in the middle of the 1989–90 NHL season, replacing his brother Bryan.[1] Under T. Murray's guidance, the Capitals advanced further into the NHL playoffs than ever before, winning two rounds before being swept by Boston in the conference finals. Murray coached the Capitals until the middle of the 1993–94 NHL season when he was replaced by Jim Schoenfeld.[2]

After a brief coaching stint as head coach of the Cincinnati Cyclones in the IHL, Murray became head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, where he put together the "Legion of Doom" line consisting of Eric Lindros, John LeClair, and Mikael Renberg.[3] In three seasons as head coach of the Flyers (1994–95 through 1996–97), Murray compiled a 118–64–30 record and coached the team to two Atlantic Division Championships (1994–95 and 1995–96) and to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals as the Eastern Conference Champion. After beating three teams easily with 4-1 series wins, the Flyers were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in four games. Despite this accomplishment, Murray was fired after the end of the 1997 playoffs. One website had described Terry's shuffling of goaltenders Ron Hextall and Garth Snow to be unprofessional, while others felt it was a possible panic move, and even Snow was caught by surprise at the move after the Game 1 loss to have him in for Hextall.[4][5]

When the Flyers lost 6-1 in Game 3, he described the result as a choking situation during a closed-door meeting with his players, which angered them since it "exposed and pulverized" the "fragility of the team's confidence".[4][6] Murray served as a pro scout for the Flyers during the 1997–98 season, which saw Wayne Cashman named as coach, who was meant to be a more communicative coach.[7]

During the 1998–99 season, Murray assumed the Panthers' head coaching position from his brother, Bryan, the interim Panthers' coach, after Doug MacLean was fired. In 1999–2000, Murray led the Panthers to a franchise record 98-point season, team-record 43 victories, and into the first round of the playoffs. He was replaced by Duane Sutter at the Panthers' helm in the fall of 2000.

Murray served as a pro scout for the Philadelphia Flyers over parts of three seasons (2000–01 to 2002–03) and joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach from 2003 to 2008.[8]

He served as coach of the Los Angeles Kings from July 17, 2008, until December 12, 2011.[9] At the time of his dismissal, he ranked third in franchise wins (139), fourth in games coached (275), and first in winning percentage (.560). Assistant coach John Stevens was named interim head coach. When the Kings won the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals under then-head coach Darryl Sutter, they requested the NHL to have Murray's name included on the cup but were denied by the NHL.

Murray then served as head coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. At the time, Murray was the only coach in the AHL who had coached in the league in the 1980s.[10] He was later named as an assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres on June 18, 2015. He returned to the Phantoms as an assistant coach in December 2018.

Personal life

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Terry and his wife, Linda, reside in Scarborough, Maine. They have two daughters, Meaghan and Lindsey.

Murray, one of ten children of Clarence and Rhoda Murray, was born and raised in the Ottawa Valley town of Shawville, Quebec, near Ottawa.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1965–66 Pembroke Lumber Kings CJHL
1967–68 Ottawa 67's OHA 52 0 4 4 59
1968–69 Ottawa 67's OHA 50 1 16 17 39 7 0 1 1 4
1969–70 Ottawa 67's OHA 50 4 24 28 43 5 0 0 0 2
1970–71 Providence Reds AHL 57 1 22 23 47 10 0 1 1 5
1971–72 Baltimore Clippers AHL 30 0 5 5 13
1971–72 Boston Braves AHL 9 0 0 0 0
1971–72 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL 17 1 1 2 19 6 0 0 0 2
1972–73 California Golden Seals NHL 23 0 3 3 4
1972–73 Salt Lake Golden Eagles WHL 39 3 8 11 30 9 0 6 6 14
1973–74 California Golden Seals NHL 58 0 12 12 48
1974–75 California Golden Seals NHL 9 0 2 2 8
1974–75 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 62 5 30 35 122 11 2 2 4 30
1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 3 0 0 0 2 6 0 1 1 0
1975–76 Richmond Robins AHL 67 8 48 56 95 6 1 4 5 2
1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 36 0 13 13 14
1976–77 Detroit Red Wings NHL 23 0 7 7 10
1977–78 Philadelphia Firebirds AHL 7 2 1 3 13
1977–78 Maine Mariners AHL 68 9 40 49 53 12 1 7 8 28
1978–79 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 5 0 0 0 0
1978–79 Maine Mariners AHL 55 14 23 37 14 10 1 5 6 6
1979–80 Maine Mariners AHL 68 3 19 22 26 12 2 2 4 10
1980–81 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 71 1 17 18 53 12 2 1 3 10
1980–81 Maine Mariners AHL 2 0 1 1 0
1981–82 Washington Capitals NHL 74 3 22 25 60
AHL totals 363 37 159 196 261 50 5 19 24 51
NHL totals 302 4 76 80 199 18 2 2 4 10

NHL coaching record

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Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L T OTL Pts Finish W L Pct. Result
WSH 1989–90 34 18 14 2 (78) 3rd in Patrick 8 7 .533 Lost in Conference finals (BOS)
WSH 1990–91 80 37 36 7 81 3rd in Patrick 5 6 .455 Lost in Division finals (PIT)
WSH 1991–92 80 45 27 8 98 2nd in Patrick 3 4 .429 Lost in Division semifinals (PIT)
WSH 1992–93 84 43 34 7 93 2nd in Patrick 2 4 .333 Lost in Division semifinals (NYI)
WSH 1993–94 47 20 23 4 (88) Fired
WSH Total 325 163 134 28 18 21 .462 4 playoff appearances
PHI 1994–95 48 28 16 4 60 1st in Atlantic 10 5 .667 Lost in Conference finals (NJD)
PHI 1995–96 82 45 24 13 103 1st in Atlantic 6 6 .500 Lost in Conference semifinals (FLA)
PHI 1996–97 82 45 24 13 103 2nd in Atlantic 12 7 .632 Lost in Stanley Cup Finals (DET)
PHI Total 212 118 64 20 28 18 .609 3 playoff appearances
FLA 1998–99 82 30 34 18 78 2nd in Southeast Missed playoffs
FLA 1999–00 82 43 27 6 6 98 2nd in Southeast 0 4 .000 Lost in Conference quarterfinals (NJD)
FLA 2000–01 36 6 18 7 5 (66) Fired
FLA Total 200 79 79 31 11 0 4 .000 1 playoff appearance
LAK 2008–09 82 34 37 11 79 5th in Pacific Missed playoffs
LAK 2009–10 82 46 27 9 101 3rd in Pacific 2 4 .333 Lost in Conference quarterfinals (VAN)
LAK 2010–11 82 46 30 6 98 4th in Pacific 2 4 .333 Lost in Conference quarterfinals (SJS)
LAK 2011–12 29 13 12 4 (95) Fired
LAK Total 275 139 106 30 4 8 .333 2 playoff appearances
Total 1012 499 383 89 41 50 51 .495 10 playoff appearances

References

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  1. ^ Sell, Dave (January 15, 1990). "CAPITALS FIRE MURRAY, GIVE THE JOB TO HIS BROTHER". Washington Post. Retrieved February 11, 2024 – via washingtonpost.com.
  2. ^ Sell, Dave (January 28, 1994). "CAPITALS FIRE MURRAY, NAME SCHOENFELD AS COACH". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  3. ^ "Philadelphia Flyers - Features: Great Moments: The Legion of Doom Wreaks Havoc on NHL - 01/29/2008". flyers.nhl.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-30.
  4. ^ a b "Stanley Cup Finals '97". hockeynut.com. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  5. ^ "Flyers' juggling act raises eyebrows". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Biggest Stanley Cup playoff chokes". ESPN. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  7. ^ "Cashman, Flyers close deal".
  8. ^ "Flyers Name Terry Murray An Assistant Coach". Philadelphia Flyers. January 27, 2003. Archived from the original on February 27, 2003. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  9. ^ "Terry Murray Relieved of his Duties".
  10. ^ Ballou, Bill (December 31, 2013). "Worcester Sharks lose Freddie Hamilton to San Jose". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
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Preceded by Head coach of the Washington Capitals
1990–1994
Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers
1994–1997
Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Florida Panthers
1998–2000
Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings
2008–2011
Succeeded by
John Stevens (interim)