Terry Murray news conference
Don Fulton went out to the Terry Murray news conference today and filed this great report. He's working on more of the transcript of the day and we'll have those quotes up later in the day. Thanks, Don...
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Hoping to have secured a vital component of its rebuilding plan, the Los Angeles Kings today named Terry Murray as their head coach - the 22nd in team history - at a news conference at the team's practice facility in El Segundo.
Murray, who turns 58 on Sunday, succeeds Marc Crawford, who was fired June 10, and has ties to Kings' general manager Dean Lombardi, as the two worked together in the Philadelphia Flyers organization from 2002 to 2006.
"We are very pleased that Terry has accepted this challenge," Lombardi said. "He has a wide range of coaching experience and he understands the importance of teaching, which is critical to the building process."
Murray takes over a team that tied Tampa Bay with a league low 71 points last season, a task that is not lost on his general manager.
"I think this is the toughest job in the National Hockey League right now," Lombardi said.
For his part, Murray seems excited about the prospects of having such a young group of players to send out to battle each night.
"I'm coming in to this with my eyes wide open. I know exactly what the process is, to move this along and to get this organization back on track. We have some very good young hockey players in this organization, and we're going to get younger and we are going to bring along those young players at the right time and develop them in the right process so that they can feel success in this NHL," he said.
The younger brother of Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray, Terry Murray has been an assistant coach with the Flyers the last four seasons and has more than 700 games of experience as an NHL head coach on his resume. The Kings have signed him to a three-year deal.
"I am very excited about this opportunity," Murray said. "This will be my biggest challenge as a coach. There is a lot of work ahead and it will take a collective effort to execute the plan we have in place. I am looking forward to training camp and to getting the process under way."
An assistant coach for the Washington Capitals from 1983-84 to 1987-88, Murray was named head coach of Washington's AHL affiliate in Baltimore for a season and a half, starting in 1988-89 before assuming the Capitals' head coaching duties - taking over at midseason from brother Bryan - from 1989-90 to 1993-94.
Washington made the playoffs in each of Murray's four full seasons with the team, including a trip to the conference finals in his first season.
Murray was replaced in the middle of the 1993-94 season, as Washington sputtered to a 20-23-4 record to start the season.
He then worked the balance of that season as the head coach of the IHL's Cincinnati Cyclones before assuming the head coaching duties of the Flyers in 1994-95, a post he held through the 1996-97 season.
The Flyers made the playoffs in all three seasons with Murray at the helm, culminating in a trip to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals where the team was swept by the Detroit Red Wings.
Murray became embroiled in controversy when he was quoted as saying that his team was "basically in a choking situation" following a 6-1 loss in Detroit that put the Flyers in a 3-0 hole in the series. A week after Philadelphia was eliminated, Murray was fired by the team with general manager Bobby Clarke citing "problems that existed between the coach and the players."
The Flyers kept Murray in the organization as a pro scout during the 1997-98 season, a post he held until assuming head coaching duties for the Florida Panthers during the 1998-99 season, replacing brother Bryan, who held the dual title of general manager and interim head coach at the time.
Murray led the Panthers to a 98-point season in 1999-00 with 43 wins, however the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, and after Florida won only six of its first 36 games in the 2000-01 season, Murray was fired.
Murray's NHL coaching record is 360-277-89-11. His NHL playoff coaching record is 46-43.
As a player, Murray, a defenseman, played in parts of nine NHL seasons from 1972 to 1982 for the California Golden Seals, Philadelphia, Detroit and Washington. A stay-at-home defenseman, Murray tallied four goals, 76 assists and 199 penalty minutes in 302 NHL games.
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Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar. A native of Los Angeles, Rich has worked at the Daily News since 1999 and also serves as the paper's deputy sports editor. E-mail Rich at rich.hammond@dailynews.com.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews.com.
Don, your the MON!!(MAN)
Keep up the great work!
Despite what of you guys think, I'm pulling for this guy.
I hope he turns things around and puts this team in the playoffs.
I do like his resume and wish him luck.
Would someone enlighten me as to that incident (early 80's or 90's) that caused him to be dismissed as head coach.
What happened?
Anthony,
It's called A Re-Building PROCESS...........and having PATIENCE..............
Make sure you understand those TERMS...
Murray basically called his team out in public rather than jumping on them in the locker room and private.
Of course they were facing a great Detroit team back then. Bobby Clarke had to stick up for the players, easier to dump Murray than a bunch of players. Notice he stayed on in Philly and then came back again recently so they must think highly of him.
I looked it up the other day when people were questioning Murray's firings---Scotty Bowman was fired twice!
Coaches are hired to be fired, very few leave on their own terms.
one word....SOLID. The guy is smart, knows the game, and has NO ego! Works like a dog...extremely well respected in the league, and players love his coaching style. I believe we are lucky to have him. i like the part about no kissing butt..... Good job DEANO!!
Yeah.
So. Hey. Listen.
I worked with this dude like six years ago for about four years. He's great. Good guy all around.
Here's what we'll do: we'll tell everyone we have a long list of people we're considering... we'll throw out stuff like "our potential candidate need not have nhl experience" AND "he needs to be a good fit for this organization" and stuff like that.
Then we'll just go ahead and hire my buddy!
Cool??
OK. here we go!
I got a hundred bucks that says the clippers finish with a better record than us next season.
HEY CLIPPER FANS! YEAH YOU!
IT'S CALLED a re-BUILDING PROCESS....and having PATIENCE.....
you guys understand those TEMRS???
good ... we'll take your beer money.
It seems to me that this isn't YEAR ONE of the Lombardi plan, it's YEAR THREE. Why does he get a free pass when it seems he's rebuilding his own mess? Firing his coach, buying out his players. Lombardi's hiring of Crawford and his idiotic free agent signings are the reason we need to rebuild. Blame him don't praise him.
And don't worry about becoming like the Clippers. We are the Clippers of the NHL. OPEN YOUR EYES. Last place.
Did Murray get fired by his brother in Florida?
I'm excited. I like the idea of having a eastern conference coach working for the Kings. Mabey he'll demand these kids play tough and to stand up for each other. I think that we'll still miss the playoffs this year, but, I think we will see a more competitive team and some big hits. Go Kings!
I was living in Florida when he coached there. He did a good job with not a great team, and got them into the playoffs. I think he is going to be as good as we could get at this time.
I love Matt George.
You're my kind of king fan.
Says it the way it is.
Murray the Cop, I guarantee you the Kings will not finish in last place.
At the news conference when they were introducing all of the staff prior to Terry Murray, they introduced Dustin Brown as being present.....could this mean that he's going to be the new captian???? No other Kings players were there.
This is not a coach that is wanted by anyone in the NHL, some other teams trash, the Kings are great at this, 3 years? It sounds like this guy does not get along with his players, just another reason for good free agents to play elsewhere...WTF!!!!!!!