Ottawa Looks to California for a New Coach

The Ottawa Senators will be a more physical and more creative team the next time they take the ice. That's the word from Bryan Murray, who was hired yesterday as Ottawa's new head coach.

While insisting that his teams are always "solid defensively," Murray emphasized that the Senators will be aggressive on the attack.

"I'm a puck-pressure guy," he told reporters. "I like my players to be somewhat physical. I want the players to have some freedom to play the game with the puck. They're allowed to be creative."

The word "physical" was raised several times during Murray's introductory press conference.

"We probably have to step up a little more physically," he suggested, when asked to assess Ottawa's disappointing playoff performance this year.

"(The players) have to know that I will do everything in my power to support them," he added. "They've got to trust me when a skill player gets run by a physical player on another team that I'm going to help them by getting someone out there to offset that."

Murray replaces Jacques Martin, who was fired in April after the Senators were eliminated by Toronto in the opening round of the playoffs. Martin was often criticized for his conservative approach to the game.

"I've known (Jacques) a long time and I know his philosophy is very different than mine in the physical nature and the way I want the team to play," said Murray.

Murray, who grew up not far from Ottawa, left the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to take over the Senators. He resigned Monday as Anaheim's vice-president and general manager. "Ottawa is the only place I would have come to coach," he said.

Beginning in 1981, Murray coached the Washington Capitals for 8-1/2 seasons. He moved on to coaching and GM positions in Detroit and Florida, and coached Anaheim for one season before moving to the Ducks' executive offices in 2002.

More on the Bryan Murray hiring.