On Tuesday, the Ottawa Senators inducted Bryan Murray as the first member of its newly-minted Ring of Honour.
Murray served as general manager of the Senators from 2007 until the end of last season, while doubling as head coach from 2005-08.
Under his guidance, the Senators posted their best season in franchise history, wrapping the 2005-06 campaign with 113 points. The following spring, the Senators made their first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Whether from the general manager's seat or behind the bench, Murray left his impression on the Senators' organization, where he still serves as senior hockey advisor.
This season, with the Senators sitting second in the Atlantic Division, the team is poised to return to the postseason after missing out a year ago. The Senators are led by a host of key players, many of whom arrived in Ottawa because of Murray:
The Turris Trade
David Rundblad had a short tenure in Ottawa. That's because after he was acquired from the St. Louis Blues in the summer of 2010, Murray flipped him to Arizona a year-and-a-half later in order to bring young pivot Kyle Turris to the Canadian capital.
With the Coyotes, Turris struggled to live up to his billing as a one-time third-overall pick, but has flourished in Ottawa, where he has provided a strong top-two presence down the middle alongside new recruit Derick Brassard. Consistency has been the name of Turris' game since coming to the Senators, as he's scored no fewer than 0.53 points per game since 2011:
| Season | GP | G-A-Pts | Pts/GP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 49 | 12-17-29 | 0.59 |
| 2012-13 | 48 | 12-17-29 | 0.60 |
| 2013-14 | 82 | 26-32-58 | 0.71 |
| 2014-15 | 82 | 24-40-64 | 0.78 |
| 2015-16 | 57 | 13-17-30 | 0.53 |
| 2016-17 | 46 | 17-16-33 | 0.72 |
Goodbye Lehner
On the floor of the 2015 draft, the Senators cashed in on a seller's market for goaltenders, when Murray shipped backup netminder Robin Lehner to the Buffalo Sabres, recently under the guidance of former Senators assistant GM and Murray's nephew, Tim Murray.
That deal returned a first rounder to Ottawa, which the Senators used to nab forward Colin White with the 21st overall pick.
White recently made headlines as part of the world juniors, where the agitating winger put up seven goals and an assist en route to Team USA's gold medal finish. While White remains in the amateur ranks, spending this season at Boston College, Murray and the Senators have seen several other successes at the draft table, many having big impacts with the team this season:
| Player | Position | Draft Year - Pick | Career GP | Career Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cody Ceci | D | 2012 - 1/15 | 251 | 19-44-63 |
| J.G. Pageau | F | 2011 - 4/96 | 215 | 38-48-86 |
| Ryan Dzingel | F | 2011 - 7/204 | 76 | 12-21-33 |
| Mark Stone | F | 2010 - 6/178 | 223 | 69-99-168 |
| Mike Hoffman | F | 2009 - 5/130 | 227 | 76-71-147 |
| Erik Karlsson | D | 2008 - 1/15 | 525 | 107-317-424 |
| Zach Smith | F | 2008 - 3/79 | 444 | 76-61-137 |
Adding Dion
Eleven months ago, the Senators pulled off a blockbuster deal with their provincial rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 10-piece, nine-player deal involved many moving parts, but the biggest name in the package included Maple Leafs defenseman and captain Dion Phaneuf.
Since arriving in Ottawa, Phaneuf has stabilized the Senators' blue line, pairing with young defender Cody Ceci, and rounding out a top-four that includes Erik Karlsson and Marc Methot. Phaneuf has rediscovered his game and his scoring touch in Ottawa, as he's on pace for his best finish since 2012.
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