Sens GM Murray to continue in role

Apr 29, 2015 - 7:38 PM Ottawa, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray wants to remain in his current role, thanks to the late-season surge his team embarked upon to gain a playoff berth.

"I'm keeping going. I've talked to the doctors, I've talked to my family, I talked to ownership and if my health holds up and everything I feel I can keep doing this job and it's better than sitting on the couch at home I think," Murray said.

The Senators presented Murray with a two-year contract extension and also named him president of hockey operations back in January of 2014. Upon the conclusion of the extension in 2016, Murray had planned to stay on with the team in an advisory role.

He was then diagnosed with cancer in July, and speculation arose that Murray might step aside due to health concerns.

"It's easy for me to say I probably shouldn't continue on. I should probably take a break from this game, but you see the enthusiasm of the group, the opportunity that this group going forward has, you'd like to be part of it. I do know we need to make a couple changes and we're going to try, but there are no guarantees. We know that."

The 72-year-old Murray has been with the franchise since June 2004 when he was named the team's head coach, then took over the general manager's duties on June 18, 2007.

Murray had a record of 100-46-18 as head coach from 2005-07, guiding the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals in the spring of 2007. He also coached the team for the final 18 games of the 2007-08 campaign after firing John Paddock.