Andy Murray

Andy Murray (born March 3, 1951 in Gladstone, Manitoba, Canada) is currently the head coach of the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League, and was the head coach for the Los Angeles Kings from 1999 to 2006.

• Hometown: Souris, Manitoba

Early life and career

In 1976, when Murray was 25 years old, his uncle hired him to be the coach of the Brandon Travellers after a brawl. Three years later, he got the head-coaching job at Brandon University in Manitoba while still working at the family car dealership during the day. In 1981, his father died the day after a victory that qualified Brandon for a National tournament. After that season, he needed to get away, and took a coaching job in Switzerland. In 1988, he went to the United States to be the assistant coach for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. That year, the Bears won the AHL championship, and he was promoted to be an assistant coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. He spent two years there before joining as an assistant coach with the Minnesota North Stars, where he made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. In 1992, he went back to Switzerland to coach for Lugano. Two months later, he quit because of a fan revolt. After that, he took a job in Germany before returning to assistant coaching with the Winnipeg Jets, where he stayed until 1995. Murray was named the coach of the Canadian National Team in 1996, a post he held until 1998. He served as head coach at Shattuck-St. Mary's School for the 1998–99 season.

NHL head coach

On June 14, 1999, Andy was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Kings replacing Larry Robinson, where he stayed for seven seasons. On March 21, 2006, Andy Murray was fired by the Kings and was replaced on an interim basis by John Torchetti. He provided colour commentary for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during their Hockey Night in Canada telecasts of the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs.

On December 11, 2006, the Blues hired Murray to replace Mike Kitchen as head coach after a seven game losing streak. He coached the Blues to a record of 33–36–13 in his first full season as coach in 2007–2008. On April 10, 2009, Murray coached the Blues from a 15th place showing in the Western Conference at the All-Star Break to a 25-9-7 record down the stretch to clinching the 6th playoff spot, marking the team's first Stanley Cup playoffs appearance since the 2004-05 lockout. Murray's Blues took on the Vancouver Canucks in the opening round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs and were swept.

Andy Murray (age 5) as mascot for Souris Sr. Elks (credit Sanderson Printing)

International tournaments

Andy coached Canada to the three gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships in 1997, 2003 and 2007. He was the first coach to accomplish this feat.

Career Statistics

Coaching

					Regular Season							Playoffs
Season	Team	League	Type		GP	W	L	T	Pts	Finish		GP	W	L	Results
1976-77	Brandon	MJHL	Head		52	30	21	1	61	2nd North		11	4	7	Lost Div Final
1977-78	Brandon	MJHL	Head		52	34	17	1	69	3rd North		6	2	4	Lost Div Semi

NHL coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season							Post Season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
Los Angeles Kings	1999–00	82	39	27	12	4	94	2nd in Pacific	Lost in First Round (DET)
	2000–01	82	38	28	13	3	92	3rd in Pacific	Won First Round (DET) Lost in Second Round (COL)
	2001–02	82	40	27	11	4	95	3rd in Pacific	Lost in First Round (COL)
	2002–03	82	33	37	6	6	78	3rd in Pacific	Missed Playoffs
	2003–04	82	28	29	16	9	81	3rd in Pacific	Missed Playoffs
	2005–06	70	37	28	—	5	79	4th in Pacific (89 pts.)	(fired)
St. Louis Blues	2006–07	56	27	18	—	11	65	3rd in Central (81 pts.)	Missed Playoffs
	2007–08	82	33	36	—	13	79	5th in Central	Missed Playoffs
	2008–09	82	41	31	—	10	90	3rd in Central	Lost in First Round (VAN)
Career Totals	9 Seasons	700	306	261	58	65	753