Ducks Made a Good Choice, if Anyone Cares

Pierre Gauthier on Friday hired Bryan Murray as the Mighty Ducks’ fifth coach in their short, unremarkable life.

Did you forget the team had been without one since Guy Charron wasn’t asked back a day after the worst season in franchise history ended April 8?

You’re excused.

After all, Gauthier went deeper into his stealth mode than at any time since he was hired as team president and general manager in the summer of 1998. He made a surprise pick by hiring Murray, but also a wise one.

Murray is 58, which makes him the oldest man to coach the eight-year-old team. He also has coached the Washington Capitals (1981-1990), the Detroit Red Wings (1990-93) and the Florida Panthers (1997-98). Murray has won 484 games as a coach, tying him for seventh on the NHL’s all-time list.

In addition, Murray was a general manager with Detroit and, most recently, Florida. He coached junior-level and collegiate teams in Canada. He was a high school history teacher in Montreal and athletic director at McGill University.

So, congratulations to Murray on getting the job. Welcome to Duckdom, and all that it entails.

And congratulations to Gauthier for hiring a respected man with a lifetime of varied experience to guide his woebegone team on the ice. It’s difficult to say Gauthier could have done better. He wouldn’t comment on his candidates during the interview process and he wouldn’t speak about runners-up Friday.

Gauthier would say that Murray is “a good fit” for the youthful Ducks (average age: 26.6 years, the league’s fifth-youngest).

Look what he did with Washington, turning the Capitals from league-wide laughingstock to Stanley Cup playoff contender during the 1980s.

Look what he did with Detroit, transforming the Red Wings from sad sack to league power in the early 1990s.

Look closest at his track record with young players, however.

Murray coached Scott Stevens in Washington when he was a raw talent. He coached Sergei Fedorov, Martin Lapointe, Nicklas Lidstrom and Keith Primeau in Detroit. They also were once confused youngsters, but now are among the league’s elite players.

The Ducks in 2000-01 finished last among the 15 teams in the Western Conference, trailing even the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. They won a franchise-low 25 games.

However, as Gauthier pointed out Friday, “Our best players are between the ages of 23 and 26, plus there’s Vishnevski, who’s only 21.”

That would be hard-hitting defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski, who has a mean streak that brings to mind a young Scott Stevens.

Paul Kariya is a veteran of seven NHL seasons but is only 26. Defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky is 25. Left wings Jeff Friesen and Mike Leclerc and center Matt Cullen are each 24. Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere is 23.

“When I got to Washington, we didn’t have what we have here,” Murray said. “What I see here is a superstar, a number of forwards who have the potential to grow, at least four mobile defensemen and a young goaltender.”

However, as Gauthier acknowledged, “We’re still going to have to jell. That’s Bryan Murray’s challenge. Somebody’s got to put all this together. That’s why Bryan is the right fit.”

The Ducks haven’t had the right man for the job behind the bench since (all together now) Ron Wilson was canned after leading the team to the second round of the playoffs in its fourth season in 1996-97. Wilson was glib and funny and rallied the troops with an “Us Against the World” mantra.

Pierre Page, Wilson’s replacement, was handicapped by Kariya’s absence for all but 22 games because of a contract squabble and a season-ending concussion in 1997-98.

Craig Hartsburg simply didn’t have the experience to be a good NHL coach, although he led the team to the playoffs in 1998-99.

Charron wasn’t the answer either.

Give Gauthier credit. He knew his choice to replace Charron had to be a patient man, gentle at times and forceful at others. And that ruled out Mike Keenan and Pat Burns, whose hard-nosed tactics aren’t right for the Ducks.

Hiring a bright, young NHL assistant coach (Dave Tippett of the Kings, for instance) made sense.

But Gauthier wanted a teacher, a molder of young men, and he believes that’s what he got in Murray.

Gauthier’s interest went back to a talk they had on a chance meeting in January, not long after Murray was fired as general manager of the Panthers. They ran into each other again in the Detroit airport late in the season, after Murray scouted a Duck game at Toronto.

In each case, Murray told Gauthier he would like to coach rather than be a general manager. Gauthier kept that in mind, speaking to Murray not long after deciding against retaining Charron.

“I spoke to a lot of people and narrowed my choices down to three or four people,” Gauthier said. “As I was going along, I kept comparing people to Bryan. He was pretty tough to beat.”

No question, Murray gives the team a recognizable face behind the bench--even if he will be the second man named Murray coaching a Southern California hockey team. (Andy Murray is the Kings’ coach). Kariya, the Duck captain, gave Murray’s hiring his seal of approval Friday.

“Bryan has a lot of experience, a number of years in the NHL,” Kariya said. “I think that’s exactly what this team needs. We have players who need experience. He has a lot of experience to offer.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Bryan Murray’s NHL Coaching Record

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Season Team G Record Pct G Record Pct 1981-82 Washington 66 25-28-13 .477 -- -- -- 1982-83 Washington 80 39-25-16 .588 4 1-3 .250 1983-84 Washington 80 48-27-5 .631 8 4-4 .500 1984-85 Washington 80 46-25-9 .631 5 2-3 .400 1985-86 Washington 80 50-23-7 .669 9 5-4 .556 1986-87 Washington 80 38-32-10 .538 7 3-4 .429 1987-88 Washington 80 38-33-9 .531 14 7-7 .500 1988-89 Washington 80 41-29-10 .575 6 2-4 .333 1989-90 Washington 46 18-24-4 .435 -- -- -- 1990-91 Detroit 80 34-38-8 .475 7 3-4 .429 1991-92 Detroit 80 43-25-12 .613 11 4-7 .364 1992-93 Detroit 84 47-28-9 .613 7 3-4 .429 1997-98 Florida 59 17-31-11 .381 -- -- -- Totals 975 484-368-123 .559 78 34-44 .436

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