Pucks of a Feather
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Anaheim Ducks: Bob Murray Receives his “Report Card” for the 2018-19 Season

By Ciara Durant

ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 3: General Manager and Interim Head Coach, Bob Murray of the Anaheim Ducks smiles from the bench during the game against the Calgary Flames on April 3, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 3: General Manager and Interim Head Coach, Bob Murray of the Anaheim Ducks smiles from the bench during the game against the Calgary Flames on April 3, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Anaheim Ducks
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 23: General manager and interim head coach Bob Murray of the Anaheim Ducks watches from the bench during the first period of the game against the Los Angeles Kings at STAPLES Center on March 23, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Coaching

For weeks before the firing of Randy Carlyle, Bob Murray made the claim that his coach would be staying until, everyone assumed, at least the end of the season. However, after the fans put their foot down and things went a little haywire when it came to renewing the seats of season ticket holders, it came to the attention of Henry and Susan Samueli that something needed to change.

The solution? Firing Randy Carlyle. Instead of bringing in a coach midway through the season, Bob Murray did something very outlandish and bold. Had it backfired, he likely would have been out of a job. Putting his own career on the line, Murray stepped out of the comfort of his office and stepped behind the bench as the Anaheim Ducks interim head coach.

During his time as interim head coach, his win-loss record was 14-11-1 for a points percentage total of .558%. Compared to Randy Carlyle’s earlier season totals of 21-26-9 and .455%, Bob Murray did a decent job coaching in hindsight. Although it was not enough to pull the Ducks out of their slump and lead them to the playoffs, there was a decent incentive in the end in the form of a first-round draft pick, Trevor Zegras.

He only had 26 games to test his coaching skills, which were only really average at best. However, his time on the bench really changed the team atmosphere. The fighting spirit was instilled back into the players and there was vast improvement during the last few months of the season compared to the first few months under Randy Carlyle.

Final Grade: C+

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