Chris Lowrey, THE EQUITY
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was in attendance at Bryan Murray’s celebration of life at the Canadian Tire Centre Thursday Aug. 24. “He loved the liquid hockey rituals,” Bettman said about Murray during his speech. Bettman was one of several who spoke well of Murray during the event hosted by the Ottawa Senators. Some tears were shed and many laughs were had at the celebration of Bryan Murray`s life at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ont. on Aug. 24.
Several high-profile members of the hockey world made appearances and said a few words about Shawville`s most famous son.
Outside of the venue, people filed past two Ottawa Fire Service trucks that had their ladders extended to the sky with a massive Canadian flag draped between them.
Once inside, Murray`s favourite country and folk songs played over the sound system as mourners took their seats.
In the corridors of the Canadian Tire Centre, hockey dignitaries including Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock, Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion and former Senator Chris Phillips all shared their memories of Murray.
Babcock, widely seen as one of hockey’s best coaches, reflected on Murray giving him his first shot at the NHL level.
“Well, he got me my first job,” Babcock said about Murray. “Bryan’s a great man; A great hockey man and a better person.”
“I was coaching in Cincinnati and when he got fired from Florida he came in and we had a few beers one night and the next thing you know he’s coaching in Anaheim and I’m coaching the farm team,” Babcock said. “In the end, he called me one day when I was in Detroit watching a playoff game in ‘02 and he said ‘Why don’t you come in here tomorrow and be impressive?’ So I assumed that meant I had the job. So my family and myself, we have a lot to be thankful to Bryan for.”
Several of those in attendance spoke about how down-to-earth Murray was and that the best way to get to know the man was over a beverage.
“He loved the liquid hockey rituals,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “A coffee in the morning and a beer after the game had been played.”
In fact, many of the stories recounted usually took place in the presence of a cold one. Senators Assistant GM Randy Lee described Murray as a “hall of fame storyteller.”
“He was so good at communicating,” his niece Lynn Hearty-Coutts said. “He could tell you to go to hell and you’d enjoy the trip.”
“He was the king of sarcasm,” Lee said in his speech. “When he gave feedback to his players, he was brutally honest and often mixed it with sarcasm.”
“Those team meetings were awesome,” added Phillips, recounting one story when Murray told his goaltenders during a rough patch: “You’re allowed to stop the puck eh?”
But Murray’s quick wit wasn’t just reserved for his players, referees and opposing players sometime felt his wrath as well.
“When he lost his cool and snapped, he could trade verbal jabs with the best of them,” Lee said.
“Bryan once said ‘When I played sports, I was always the guy with the biggest mouth,’” said Bettman. “Well, he also had the biggest heart.”
At one point in the ceremony, Lee recounted a story about Murray sitting down with one of the Senators’ top-scoring forwards to see what had been causing a recent scoring slump.
“The player thought for sure he was getting ripped,” Lee said. “Bryan sat him down and said ‘What’s going on with you?’ The player said ‘I don’t know Bryan, I can’t score, I don’t feel the puck at all.’ [Murray] goes ‘Things ok at home?’ [The player said] ‘Yeah Bryan, things are good.’ [Bryan asked] ‘How about your teammates?’ [The player said] ‘Bryan I love this group, they’re great.’ And then came out the crooked finger, and [Bryan] said ‘Are you drinking again?’ ‘No Bryan, I’m not drinking.’ [Murray] goes ‘Well, you better start because you’re no good when you’re sober.’”
The arena erupted with laughter.
Murray, as evidenced by his time as Phys-Ed teacher in Shawville, leaned on his background as an educator to help his players.
Phillips talked about Murray’s ability to know what made each player tick, and how to get the most out of them.
“He made it safe to fail,” said Hearty-Coutts. “As long as you learned something.”
Murray’s toughness was also a major theme during the ceremony.
“He was an honest man and all he asked for was an honest effort,” Phillips said. “He was old-school tough and never backed down from a fight.”
One of the toughest fights of his life was against the cancer diagnosis he got in 2014. But even that fight, Murray fought with dignity and grace by getting his message out to as many people as possible about getting checked for colon cancer.
“Some people say that uncle Bryan had to deal with cancer,” Hearty-Coutts said. “But I say that cancer had to deal with uncle Bryan.”
Above all, though, Murray was remembered as a family man.
“He always wanted to know about [my family] and he wanted to tell me about his,” Phillips said.