clarinews@clarinet.com (WILL DUNHAM, UPI Sports Writer) (01/16/90)
LANDOVER, Md. (UPI) -- Saying the struggling Washington Capitals needed ``a change for change's sake,'' General Manager David Poile Monday fired nine-year coach Bryan Murray and hired his younger brother, Terry Murray, as his replacement. Bryan Murray, 47, a defensive-minded coach who transformed the Capitals from doormat to contender but failed to guide the team to playoff success, had been the NHL coach with the longest continuous service with his club. Terry Murray, 39, has been head coach of the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Baltimore Skipjacks, for the past two seasons after serving as an assistant under his brother for six seasons. The firing comes as the Capitals, 18-24-4, are mired in an eight-game losing streak, the team's longest since a 13-game slide ending Nov. 11, 1981 -- Bryan Murray's first night as coach -- and stand in last place in the Patrick Division with the NHL's fourth worst record. Just last season, Bryan Murray guided the Capitals to their first-ever regular season Patrick Division championship. Poile struggled to explain his decision to oust one brother and hire another. ``I'm as big a believer in Bryan Murray as anybody can possibly be in hockey,'' Poile said. ``We didn't get rid of a bad person for this. We didn't get rid of a lousy coach. We have made a change. We're going in a different direction. It's a change for change's sake. Things weren't going that well this year.'' Since being hired on Nov. 11, 1981, Bryan Murray has amassed a coaching record of 343-247-83. Entering this season, he possessed the NHL's seventh all-time best coaching winning percentage and had accounted for more than 70 percent of the victories in Capitals history. Washington had never posted a winning season until Murray was hired. Bryan Murray signed a new two-year contract last May. Poile said Terry Murray was awarded a two-year contract. Terry Murray was en route to Washington from Ontario, where the Skipjacks were to play, and neither Murray brother was available for comment. ``If you were trying to make comparisons between Bryan and Terry Murray because they are brothers, I think you would be very remiss in thinking that they are very much alike at all, starting with their mannerisms to their coaching philosophies. I think there are some substantial differences,'' Poile said. Poile announced the firing in an early evening news conference after making the decision to fire Bryan Murray Monday morning following consultations with owner Abe Pollin and team president Dick Patrick. Just last week, Pollin had given Bryan Murray a public vote of confidence, saying he did not blame the coach for the team's current troubles. ``It's not fair,'' Poile admitted of the firing. ``(But) it's not fair that we have injuries (top defensemen Rod Langway and Scott Stevens are both injured). It's not fair that we've lost eight games in a row, that we're the fourth worst team in the National Hockey League. There's a lot of things that aren't fair right now.'' Poile said that the team's postseason failures under Bryan Murray were a factor in the decision. While the Capitals have the third best regular season record in the NHL over the past half-decade and have reached the Stanley Cup playoffs for seven consecutive seasons, they have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs and have repeatedly been victimized by team's with poorer regular season records in the playoffs. Terry Murray took over as the Skipjacks coach in June 1988 and has guided the AHL team to a 56-63-5 record, including 26-17-1 this season. He played 302 games in the NHL with four different clubs, including the Capitals, before becoming a coach. Terry Murray will hold his first practice Tuesday morning and will coach his first NHL game Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils at home. Poile said he believes Terry Murray was ambivalent about accepting the job. ``Obviously, there must be some mixed emotions here when you have somebody like Terry Murray who has been aspiring and training to become a coach in the National Hockey League,'' Poile said. ``I'm sure he's excited for himself getting an opportunity, yet this is his brother he's replacing.'' Poile said Terry Murray inherits a team in bad shape. ``There is nothing we can hang our hat on,'' Poile said. ``There is not one player in this eight-game losing streak that I can say has come to the front, has taken the bull by the horns, that has shown any improvement.'' Poile added: ``There are a lot of things wrong with this hockey club. Terry Murray has his work cut out for him.''