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 was playing for the Cornwall Royals of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)from 1971 to 1974, where he won a Memorial Cup, before the Black Hawks drafted him 52nd overall in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft.
| Bob Murray | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
(1954-11-26) November 26, 1954 (age 67) Kingston, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Chicago Black Hawks | ||
| NHL Draft |
52nd overall, 1974 Chicago Black Hawks | ||
| WHA Draft |
77th overall, 1974 Cincinnati Stingers | ||
| Playing career | 1974–1990 | ||
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 being drafted in the third round (52nd overall) in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. 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. He appeared in the 35th National Hockey League All-Star Game in February 1983 as a member of the Campbell Conference team.
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 2012-17. 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.[citation needed]
On November 9, 2021, Murray was placed on administrative leave by the Anaheim Ducks pending the results of an ongoing investigation.[4] The investigation is reportedly focused on Murray's alleged history of verbal abuse to players and staff members.[5] The following day, November 10, Murray resigned from his position and informed the team he planned to enter treatment for alcohol abuse.[6] At the time of his resignation, Murray was the third-longest[citation needed] tenured general manager in the league.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1971–72 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 62 | 14 | 49 | 63 | 88 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 18 | ||
| 1971–72 | Cornwall Royals | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1972–73 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 32 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 34 | 12 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 43 | ||
| 1973–74 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 63 | 23 | 76 | 99 | 88 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1974–75 | Dallas Black Hawks | CHL | 75 | 14 | 43 | 57 | 130 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 13 | ||
| 1975–76 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 64 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 77 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 71 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1977–78 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 41 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1978–79 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 79 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1979–80 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 74 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 60 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1980–81 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 77 | 13 | 47 | 60 | 93 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1981–82 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 45 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 48 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 16 | ||
| 1982–83 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 79 | 7 | 32 | 39 | 71 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 1983–84 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 78 | 11 | 37 | 48 | 78 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1984–85 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 80 | 5 | 38 | 43 | 56 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 20 | ||
| 1985–86 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 80 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 75 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1986–87 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 79 | 6 | 38 | 44 | 80 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1987–88 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 62 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 44 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1988–89 | Saginaw Hawks | IHL | 18 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 15 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 22 | ||
| 1989–90 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 49 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 45 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,008 | 132 | 382 | 514 | 871 | 112 | 19 | 37 | 55 | 106 | ||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | OTL | Pts | Finish | W | L | Win% | Result | |||
| ANA | 2018–19 | 26 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 29 | 6th in Pacific | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| Total | 26 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 29 | — | — | — | ||||
| Preceded by Darryl Sutter |
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 2008–2021 |
Succeeded by Jeff Solomon Interim |
| Preceded by Randy Carlyle |
Head coach of the Anaheim Ducks (interim) 2019 |
Succeeded by Dallas Eakins |