Recovering Murray to Miss Kings’ Practice
King Coach Andy Murray, suffering from post-concussion syndrome after Friday’s single-car accident in Wisconsin, will not be with the team this morning when it resumes practicing after a seven-day Olympic break.
Murray, who had been scheduled to fly into Los Angeles late Wednesday night from his home in Faribault, Minn., was advised by his doctors to rest for 48 hours after experiencing severe headaches and vomiting late Tuesday night.
Earlier Tuesday, the coach had said he was feeling much better after a difficult weekend and was eager to get back to work.
Assistant coaches Dave Tippett, Mark Hardy and Ray Bennett will run practice in his absence, with Murray scheduled to rejoin the Kings on Saturday.
“I’m disappointed,” Murray said Wednesday night after a short hospital visit earlier in the day. “I’ve never really missed a practice before in my coaching career that I can remember. But I also know that things will be well planned and that with Dave and Ray and Mark ... the players are in good hands.”
In addition to a concussion, Murray suffered four broken ribs, a separated left shoulder and numerous cuts and scrapes early Friday morning when the truck he was driving skidded off icy Interstate 90 outside of Sparta, Wis.
The coach was en route from Faribault to Madison, Wis., to watch his 17-year-old son, Braden, play in a high school hockey tournament when he lost control of the truck. The vehicle was demolished after crashing through a wire fence and rolling several times down an embankment through a wooded area.
After a tree stopped the truck only a few feet from the edge of a trout stream, Murray kicked out a window and crawled out of the wreckage.
The Kings, minus their coach and four Olympians, return to practice this morning in El Segundo in preparation for the resumption of their season Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Columbus, Ohio.
Olympians Mattias Norstrom, Mikko Eloranta, Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller are not due to report back to the Kings until Tuesday.
Rookie Ryan Flinn, assigned to the team’s minor league affiliate at Manchester, N.H., during the Olympic break, is expected to rejoin the Kings today.