Kings Hire Murray As Coach

Former NHL assistant Andy Murray, who spent last year coaching a high school team, was hired today as coach of the Los Angeles Kings.

Murray, 48, was introduced at a news conference near the Staples Center, the new arena the Kings will begin playing in next season.

Â"I'm very pleased to be here in Los Angeles. We expect to be a disciplined, hard-working, energetic team,Â" Murray said.

Kings general manager Dave Taylor said he liked Murray's ability to communicate with players and to command respect from them.

Â"It was a very detailed search; we went through a lot of candidates,Â" Taylor said, adding that Murray is Â"very hungry for the opportunity. He's a very bright individual, very intense.Â"

Murray got a three-year contract, but financial terms were not disclosed.

The Kings made the playoffs just once in the past four years with Larry Robinson as coach, and he was fired in April.

Murray was on the coaching staffs of three NHL teams as an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1988-1990; the Minnesota North Stars in 1990-91, when they reached the Stanley Cup final; and as associate coach of the Winnipeg Jets in 1992-1994.

He was hired as coach of Canada's national team in 1996, and the squad had a 77-29-14 record in his two seasons.

The Canadians won a gold medal at the World Championships in 1997 before Murray left in May 1998 to spend more time with his family.

This past year, Murray coached at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn., a prep school some 25 miles south of Minneapolis.

The high school team went 70-9-2 and won the Midget Triple A USA Hockey national championship with Murray as the coach.

Robinson had a 122-161-45 record as the Kings' coach, including a 32-45-5 mark last season. The team had made progress the previous season, finishing second in the Pacific Division before being swept by St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs.

But this past season, the Kings lost 25 games by one goal, had one of the league's worst power plays and lost 335 man-games to injuries or illness.

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