Bryan Murray will move from behind the Ottawa Senators bench to the front office in place of general manager John Muckler, the club announced on Monday.
Murray told a press conference in Ottawa that he will begin the search for a new coach immediately, and hopes to have someone within the next few weeks.
Bryan Murray will take over as general manager, the Ottawa Senators announced Monday.
(Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)
"I hope I can, No. 1, bring them to the next level, which is winning a Stanley Cup and help continue to make this an ongoing, continually good franchise," Murray said.
Murray's contract as head coach was set to expire June 30. He has guided the Senators to a 100-46-18 regular-season record over the past two seasons and a Stanley Cup final appearance this season, when the team lost to the Anaheim Ducks.
"We just thought if there was going to be a crossroads, let it happen now and it has to happen prior to the draft," owner Eugene Melnyk said about Murray's move.
Before joining the Senators, Murray spent most of the previous 15 years as a general manager, with the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Anaheim.
Muckler, a five-time Stanley Cup winner with the Edmonton Oilers, joined the Senators in June 2002.
Team president Roy Mlakar said he informed Muckler, 73, of the decision over the weekend.
He hired Murray away from the Ducks in June 2004 to become coach of the team after Jacques Martin was fired.
With the departure of players like Zdeno Chara and Martin Havlat this past off-season, Muckler acquired less heralded players such as Joe Corvo, Tom Preissing and Mike Comrie, who all figured prominently in Ottawa's 2007 playoff run.
But Muckler was criticized during his time in Ottawa for his performance at the trade deadline. This year, the club failed to land veteran Gary Roberts, who listed the Senators as one of the few teams he was interested in playing for.
"It was one factor," Melnyk said. "But for every disappointment, there were three successes."
Goalie moves didn't pan out
In previous years, Muckler's deadline acquisitions of Tyler Arnason and Peter Bondra were duds.
Muckler tried to address goaltending, an area of concern, by signing Dominik Hasek and then Martin Gerber. Hasek didn't return to the ice after an injury in the 2006 Olympics, while Gerber was supplanted by Ray Emery during the past season as the starting netminder.
Muckler's best player move came when he acquired Dany Heatley in exchange for Marian Hossa and Greg De Vries in 2005. Heatley is the only player in the NHL to reach the 50- goal mark in each of the last two seasons.
With Muckler at the head of the table, current Senators Patrick Eaves and Andrej Meszaros were drafted, although it will be a few years before the team's drafts since 2005 can be fully evaluated.
Murray, meanwhile, was lauded by Anaheim general manager Brian Burke for helping build the Ducks into winners.
With files from the Canadian Press
