| Played for | NHL Washington Capitals Winnipeg Jets Phoenix Coyotes IHL Fort Wayne Komets AHL Baltimore Skipjacks Moncton Hawks Springfield Falcons Hamilton Bulldogs Philadelphia Phantoms Saint John Flames |
|---|---|
| Position | Centre |
| Shoots | Right |
| Height | 6 ft |
| Height in | 1 |
| Weight lb | 180 |
| Birth date | April 4, 1967 (age 59) |
| Birth place | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Draft (1985) | 61st overall |
| Draft team | Washington Capitals [1] |
| Career start | 1987 |
| Career end | 2003 |
Robert Allan Murray (born April 4, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is the head coach of the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL.[2] Murray played much of his career as captain of the American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons. He holds team records in single season penalty minutes (373), career assists (157), penalty minutes (1529), and games (501). His number 23 was retired by the Falcons, and remains honored by the successor team in the market, the Springfield Thunderbirds.[3]
Playing career
As a youth, Murray played in the 1980 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Marlboros minor ice hockey team.[4]
Selected by the Washington Capitals in the 1985 NHL entry draft,[5] Murray played parts of two seasons for the Capitals. At the end of the 1990–91 season, he was claimed by the Minnesota North Stars and was traded the very next day to the Winnipeg Jets. Murray would spend most of his time in the Jets' minor league affiliates; first the Moncton Hawks for three seasons, and then the Springfield Falcons for eight, for which he is the career games leader and longtime captain.[3]
Following the Jets' franchise when it relocated to Phoenix, Murray would spend parts of two seasons until he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers although he would never actually play a game for the franchise. He retired from active play in 2003.[3]
Murray was at one time the career penalty minute leader in the AHL, but has since been surpassed by Dennis Bonvie; he remains in second place in league history with 2940.[6] In 2017, he was named to the AHL Hall of Fame.[7]
Coaching career
After retirement, Murray was hired as an assistant coach for the Providence Bruins and was named their head coach in 2008 following Scott Gordon's hiring by the New York Islanders. He was let go following the 2010–11 season. On July 13, 2011, he was named the head coach of the Alaska Aces of the ECHL where he remained for six seasons. His Aces teams won three Brabham Cups for the best regular season records and one Kelly Cup for the playoff championship in 2014. He stayed with the Aces until the team folded following the 2016–17 season. He was then named head coach of the Tulsa Oilers in June 2017.[2]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1983–84 | Mississauga Reps U18 AAA | GTHL | 35 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 63 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 155 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 45 | ||
| 1985–86 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 52 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 125 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 50 | ||
| 1986–87 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 62 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 204 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1987–88 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 80 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 139 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | ||
| 1988–89 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL | 80 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 235 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 41 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 58 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| 1989–90 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL | 23 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL | 48 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 177 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 1991–92 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Moncton Hawks | AHL | 60 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 247 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 56 | ||
| 1992–93 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Moncton Hawks | AHL | 56 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 147 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1993–94 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Moncton Hawks | AHL | 69 | 25 | 32 | 57 | 280 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 60 | ||
| 1994–95 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 78 | 16 | 38 | 54 | 373 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 74 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 263 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 32 | ||
| 1996–97 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 78 | 16 | 27 | 43 | 234 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 66 | ||
| 1997–98 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 80 | 7 | 30 | 37 | 255 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 68 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 197 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1999–00 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 55 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 100 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2000–01 | Philadelphia Phantoms | AHL | 46 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 30 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 80 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 97 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 71 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 94 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| AHL totals[2] | 1018 | 161 | 312 | 473 | 2940 | 86 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 246 | ||||
| NHL totals[2] | 107 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 111 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||||
References
- ^ "Tulsa Oilers | ROB MURRAY’S CONTRACT RENEWED THROUGH 2026-27 ECHL SEASON". Tulsa Oilers. Retrieved 2025-12-28.
- ^ "Rob Murray named Tulsa head coach". ECHL. Retrieved 2025-12-28.
- ^ "Falcons honor captain Murray". The AHL. February 10, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA". Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
- ^ "Capitals Select Left Wing Corriveau in 1st Round of NHL Draft". The Washington Post. 1985-06-16. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-12-28.
- ^ Linegar, Vickie (2023-12-19). "From The Archives: Life of an AHL Wife". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2025-12-28.
- ^ "Rob Murray – AHL Hall of Fame". ahlhalloffame.com. Retrieved December 28, 2025.