Murray gained a lot of respect around the League for keeping the Kings competitive the last two years despite a major rash of injuries.

A traveling man settles down
By John McGourty | NHL.com
Oct. 5, 2004

The guess here is Andy Murray's travel agent used to live in a really big house and drove a really expensive car to his very exclusive and expensive country club. But all good things must end someday and the cash flow slowed to a trickle since Murray, noted world traveler, has found a home these past five years in Los Angeles.

The Kings' coach grew up in the remote prairie town of Souris, Manitoba, graduated college, coached and sold cars from his dad's dealership in Brandon, Manitoba, got his master's degree in Miami, coached in Switzerland, returned to North America as an assistant coach with Philadelphia and Minnesota, simultaneously coached a professional team in Germany and a prep-school team in Minnesota five years ago, coached Canadian national teams in World Championships and World Junior Championships and was an assistant coach at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Whew!

Murray is the only Canadian coach to win two World Championships. He has a 178-146-58-27 record in his five years behind the Kings' bench and the respect of keen hockey minds everywhere.

The Kings have been wracked by injuries the past two seasons and major roster changes have been made. Murray gained a lot of respect for keeping those teams competitive and refusing to alibi.

It appears you'll be adding more new players and working without some of the team's former leaders. How does a team go about developing new leadership and how does a coach affect that process?

"Our theme is to get into the playoffs, because, obviously, you can't win the Stanley Cup if you don't get into the playoffs.

"I think the one constant that we have had over the last two seasons has been the coaching staff and our philosophy. In that sense we have stayed true to what we have believed in. Because of our injury situation the past two years a lot of different players have had the opportunity to step up and be leaders for us.

"If there is anything positive to have come out of those injury-plagued seasons is that we have created an environment now where different people can step up and lead us. It's not like we gave up during those last couple years. We went out and battled every night. We were always impressed with our work ethic. We don't feel that our leadership roles will take a step back. I think we have new players that can stand up and answer the challenge. I think the main thing I want to get across is that we have stayed consistent in our approach."

There are some important changes on the defense. In the event there's no significant free-agent signing, how do you see the team's defense setting up in terms of pairings. How do you balance attributes and weaknesses in your pairings?

"It's somewhat difficult to come up with pairings on defense this early, even though the players on our defense are pretty much set. We think that our defense, should we stay healthy, will be as good as we have ever had. With the additions of Stephane Quintal, the emergence of Tim Gleason and the consistency of Mattias Norstrom, Nathan Dempsey, Aaron Miller, Lubomir Visnovsky, Joe Corvo, Jason Holland and Denis Grebeshkov, we feel very strongly that we have a solid defensive core. At this time, we have to depend on training camp to allow us to sort through who will be playing with whom and how much ice time to give each player.

You have a degree in education. How does that help you in your work? Are coaches teachers?

"I don't believe that because of my educational background or the fact that I have taught before, it gives me a distinct advantage over anyone else. I think that every coach is a teacher and certainly everyday our job, as coaches, is to be facilitators of performance. We want to make sure our players have the opportunity to maximize their potential. That is a trust that we have to have and players have to believe in it. We are teaching every single day on and off the ice."

There's been such a hybridization of hockey styles over the past 35 years, how different was European hockey from North American hockey then and was it your job to bring more of the North American style there then? How helpful has it been to you to have been exposed to the European game at that early stage of your coaching career?

"I think the NHL game is a hybrid game. Having coached in Europe for some time and in the NHL now, I have seen many different styles of hockey. The Europeans have been able to take positives from the North American style of hockey and integrated it into their game. At the same time we have taken the skill and teaching elements of their style of play and implemented it into our game here. It is a hybrid game.

"When I went to Europe in the early 80's I think certainly what they were looking for from me was to show them and give them examples of the passion and energy of the typical North American hockey player. I believe that is what I tried to do.

"Upon returning from Europe, I came back with the philosophy of the emphasis of practice. I learned how to manage practices better and how to maximize the ice time that you have. You want to try to make sure every situation that you have your players in is one where they are continuing to develop and learn."

How did you simultaneously direct teams in Faribault, Minn., and Koln, Germany?

"During the 1998-99 season I was the manager for a new team in Koln while at the same time coaching the Shattuck-St. Mary's prep-school team in Faribault, Minnesota. My responsibility in Koln was to put a team together, as it was their inaugural year, and to hire a coach. I took care of all the contracts and made sure that I dealt with all areas of discipline as well. I was there in Germany for the training camp.

"What I would do was coach at Shattuck-St. Mary's Monday through Saturday (as we had games on Friday night and Saturday afternoon) morning and then catch a late-afternoon flight to Germany, through Amsterdam, to Koln. I arrived Sunday morning, in time to see our games on Sunday. Afterwards I would meet with the staff and personnel on Monday morning and then hop back on a plane and be back in Minneapolis around 1 p.m. and be on the ice by 1:30 p.m. for Shattuck's practice. That was pretty much my routine for the whole year."

Canada has turned to you to coach its national teams on many occasions and you are the only Canadian coach to win two World Championships. Tell us about your pride in representing your country and the pressure involved.

"Having had the opportunity to coach the Canadian National Team twice in my life, I know what an amazing and special feeling it is. It is always an honor to coach or play for one's own country. To me, whatever they ask me to do for my country, I would do at any time they asked and would find a way to get it done.

"I can't exactly describe the feeling of standing there as someone is hanging a gold medal around your neck as your national anthem is playing in the background. More than that, it's just the fact if your country calls for your help, I feel privileged to help out.

"I don't believe that I would be where I am today were it not for the developmental programs in my country. I wouldn't have the hockey opportunities that I did, nor would I be here, today, in the NHL. Part of that privilege and responsibility of who I am goes back to holding up my end and being there for them when they call."