J.D. POTIÉ
SHAWVILLE Oct. 15, 2019
Last week, Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson paid tribute to his former General Manager Bryan . . .
Murray by giving his mask, painted with a picture of Murray, to his wife Geri.
Before the start of the season, Geri visited the Canadian Tire Centre after someone told her that Anderson wanted to see her.
When she arrived, Anderson, wiping himself off after hitting the ice, told her that he wanted to give the helmet to Geri and her daughters in memory of her husband.
Geri said the gift meant a lot to her, noting that, out of all the things she had received from the Sens organization over the years, none had tugged her heartstrings more than this one.
“I’ve never really received anything this personal,” she said. “I have some of his trophies here… but this is kind of above and beyond what we ever thought would ever happen.”
Anderson also wrote her a little note detailing how he felt about Bryan, that caused Geri to shed a few tears.
“It was a wonderful gesture… I had to use a couple of tissues when I read that,” she said. “I will treasure those words forever,”
Geri said the helmet will be displayed in her home along with Bryan Murray’s ashes and other hockey memorabilia.
“There’s some pictures and his ashes and just some stuff that means a lot to me and the girls,” she said. “He takes up a whole shelf.”
For Geri, the gift and the sincerity with which it was given were a testament to just how highly Anderson thought of her husband.
“There’s so much respect there,” she said.
In an article in the Ottawa Sun, Anderson emphasized how much he wanted to thank Murray by letting his family know just how much of an influence he had on him during their time together in Ottawa.
“I just wanted to let them know how much of an impact he had on me and other people’s lives,” he said.
