This is a story I wrote for St. Louis Sports Magazine, which is set to launch on April first.
The magazine will include in-depth Blues and NHL coverage to go along with the Cardinals and Rams. St. Louis Sports Magazine will be the number one source for information and happenings on the St. Louis sports scene. I will have more information later this week.
A lot has been learned in the last few months about new St. Louis Blues coach Andy Murray.
But here are a few things I guarantee you didn’t know about him:
*His favorite sport is college football and he was a standout scrambling quarterback while growing up in Souris, Manitoba.
Do we start comparing Mike Vick to Andy Murray?
*On two separate occasions, I have heard him say the word ass. Both times he was responding to a few hockey people that have described Murray as being a hard-ass coach.
Murray denies being a hard ass.
You might be thinking, who cares, we all say ass, right? Well, that’s about as far as Andy Murray is willing to take it. He never curses; he just won’t do it. Every coach directs a profanity-laced tirade at a referee at some point.
Don’t waste your time waiting for that day to happen.
“Can’t you express yourself in a different way?” Murray wonders.
It’s pretty much unheard of in today’s world, let alone professional sports, that a person doesn’t slip up every now and then.
But then again you don’t meet too many people like Andy Murray.
If he had it his way, this story would be about his assistant coaches and not about him.
The first time Murray met club president John Davidson, he brought a book he prepared overnight that in described what Murray called his “Plan of Action.” The book included his philosophies and organizational charts.
Davidson knew Murray only a little from when he was working in television. After checking with nearly 20 people throughout the NHL, Murray became Davidson’s No. 1 choice.
“He’s a world-class coach who is better than advertised,” Davidson said.
Murray has interest in all aspects of the club. He’ll go out of his way to make every employee feel part of the organization. He’s invited the entire staff, including sales, marketing, and secretaries to have their picture taken with the team on the ice. He also spoke to the sales staff inside the Blues dressing room for about 45 minutes.
Having a youth hockey team attend a Blues post-game news conference is a regular occurrence following Blues games.
Murray is quick to remind you that family is the most important part of his life. He still calls his mom before every game. Following the game he never forgets to call home to his wife in Minnesota before he addresses the media.
His 17-year-old son Jordan spent spring break with his father and practiced with the Blues every day. Jordan is a junior in high school and plays hockey for Shattuck St. Mary’s, one the strongest hockey programs in the country. He’s already committed to play at the University of Wisconsin in two years.
Jordan says his dad’s style as a coach is similar to how he acts at home.
“He’s always telling us to clean up the house even though it’s already clean,” Jordan said. “Everything has to be perfect. You should see the way he puts his shoes away.”
Murray has a 21-year-old son playing in Switzerland who was drafted by the Los Angles Kings. Brady Murray will soon sign an NHL contract and likely play in the states next season. His daughter Sarah is a freshman on the University of Minnesota-Duluth hockey team. She recently broke her leg crashing into the boards, but Andy is quick to point out that she got up and made it back to the bench.
After asking Murray if he pressured his kids to play hockey, he gave a quick response.
“No I never did,” he said, “but they didn’t have to live with us either.”
Andy Murray never made it to the NHL as a player. He was a good college and Senior A player.
“I was a pain in the butt as a player. I was the same size back then as I am today, 5-9, 175, I mean 176 pounds,” said Murray.
Remember this is Canada, not some beer league that meets once a week. The entire town packs the house for these games. His team won the coveted Allan Cup one year, the equivalent to the Stanley Cup. Murray remembers his father attending every game.
The day after his team won the championship, Murray’s world changed forever when he learned his father passed away after suffering a heart attack while out on a routine jog. Murray grew up working for his dad’s car dealership and remembers watching him play senior hockey as a youngster.
“My mother would bundle me up and drag me through the snow in a wagon to go watch him play,” he remembers.
Murray can thank his uncle for his start in coaching, which began in 1976. Murray’s uncle owned a junior team called the Brandon Wheat Kings in Brandon, Manitoba. Their farm club, the Brandon Travelers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, needed a coach.
Murray would also coach university hockey in Canada before spending eight years coaching in Switzerland. His wife Ruth taught in Germany at a Canadian military base while Andy was there.
Murray has earned two degrees, one in Political Science/Sociology and the other in Education. He also received a Masters in Sports Administration from St. Thomas University in Miami, Fla.
Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey says Murray’s academic background really taught him how to use verbal and non-verbal communication effectively.
Murray says he has a reason for everything he does. He has a reason for sliding notes under the hotel room doors of his players while on the road. He has a reason why he begins practice at 10:12 and allows it to only last 39 minutes as opposed to 40 or even 41.
He has a reason why he wants his players standing three and a half feet off the boards and not four when they begin a drill. He has a reason why he has the team charter land in the opposing team’s city no later than 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
He says there’s a reason why he gets up at 5 a.m. every morning and why he requires his staff to be at the rink by 7.
He also says there’s a reason why he chooses not to criticize individual players in the press.
“I’m demanding, but never demeaning,” he states simply.
Murray wants to build a team by showing appreciation for his players. He likes to meet and greet the players when they arrive at the rink and sit and have coffee with them. He makes sure the trainers and equipment staff brings breakfast for the players every morning.
His players have adapted well. When Billy Guerin and Keith Tkachuk were traded, they both made a point to tell Davidson how much they enjoyed being around Andy Murray.
Some coaches feel a need to establish their territory when they take over a team in mid-season. Blues veteran Jamal Mayers said Murray didn’t have to do that.
“He didn’t have to come in and say things are going to be my way, he had our attention from day one,” Mayers said.
Catching a player’s attention can be different.
“One of my first days after I got called up I was walking out of the dressing room with my hat on backwards, and he asked me if I played for the Lakers and told me to turn my hat around,” said Blues rookie forward David Backes.
Murray enjoys the relationships he has with his players. He owns a junior team in Southern Minnesota with Nelson Emerson, Rob Blake and Glen Murray, three of his former players from the Los Angeles Kings.
He also owns another junior team in Salmon Arm, British Columbia with a friend who won $1 million tax free in the B.C. lotto.
Murray is looking to purchase a house in St. Louis. That may not sound like a big deal, but when you consider that he lived in a hotel his entire six years while coaching the Kings, it’s a monster leap.
“It was a terrible investment, but I like the fact that someone brings me food and makes my bed every day,” Murray said.
Murray has big plans for Blues hockey. He says he won’t be satisfied until the building is full on a nightly basis. He’s gotten off to a strong start, as the Blues are once again part of the St. Louis sports landscape. He had turned down other offers because they didn’t seem right. No matter how much success he has in St. Louis, one memory will always stand out.
He said, “My best moment as a St. Louis Blue will always be when (owner) Dave Checketts said, ‘We’d like you to coach the St. Louis Blues.’ ”
Rink Rats!
The Blues will miss the steady and consistent play of defenseman Bryce Salvador who has been the Blues best D-man all season. Like I said before, Salvador has had a major influence in the resurrection of Eric Brewer. Salvador cracked his collarbone last Saturday and will miss the rest of the season. Salvador did go with the team to Western Canada to visit with some relatives.
Why are people criticizing Barret Jackman and Matt Walker for not fighting last Staurday? With Salvador’s injury the Blues were left with five defenseman the rest of the game. The Blues couldn’t afford to have either guy in the box. You can’t play in the NHL with only four D-man, especially when Jeff Woywitka has little NHL experience and hasn’t played much this season.
Mixing it up is what these two guys do; to criticize them last Saturday is irresponsible.
Did Eric Lindross really pull his groin in a fight? After the recent Dallas/St. Louis game several Stars players were privately questioning Lindross’s toughness.
Several Blues players have raised similar questions about #88. A number of weeks back he turned down Matt walker’s invitation to fight and a few shifts later he grabbed Dan Hinote.
If Montreal finishes in the top eight, will they even win a game? David Aebischer is a nervous wreck, Sheldon Souray can pound the puck and score on the PP, but he is a pylon in his own end and a penalty waiting to happen. If I were a GM in the NHL, I wouldn’t give Souray more than 4.5 million per season.
Was Alexei Kovalev really playing on the fourth line? I guess he should stop talking to Russian reporters.
Blues Clues!
Jason Bacashihua will start in goal Monday in Calgary.
Jay Mckee is with the team in Calgary. He has spoken to management and they want to make sure his pelvic injury is fully healed before he considers playing again. Mckee is starting to feel good again when he skates and remains hopeful he will play again this season.
Ryan Johnson also made the trip, he told me he would be shocked if he didn’t play on this three game road trip.
Manny Legace made the trip out west as well. He recently told me he is hoping to skate again on Tuesday, which would make two weeks since he had his knee scoped. He didn’t feel too good after getting on the ice last Thursday.
A scout recently told me the biggest knock on goaltender Curtis Sanford is his inability to stop breakaways.
Brad Boyes parents were in St. Louis to take in the game vs. Montreal. Boyes is settling in nicely and beginning to show his awareness with the puck. His playmaking ability is superb.
If the Blues are eliminated from the playoffs, Andy Murray will ride the bus with the Peoria Rivermen for the rest of their regular season and playoffs once the Blues season is finished.
Did you know Murray turned down a job offer to coach the New York Islanders before Ted Nolan was hired?
Andy Murray will get consideration to Coach Team Canada in the World Championships, but he won't lobby for it the way other guys like Ken Hitchcock and Jaques Martin probably will. I would certainly hope the fact that his son Brady played for Team USA in the 2004 World Juniors doesn't play a factor in Hockey Canada's decision. Brady probably wouldn't have made the Canadian team anyway and is a duel citizen of both Canada and the United States.
Don’t expect Yan Stastny to be called up to the NHL until he is consistently one of Peoria’s top two forwards game in and game out. Right now Trent Whitfield and Jon Disalvatore would get the call before Stastny.
Don’t be surprised if David Backes drops the gloves sometime soon. Jackman has been working with Backes after practice on how to handle himself if the gloves come off.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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