EVP/General Manager Bob Murray

Will enter program for alcohol abuse, held job since 2008

Bob Murray resigned as executive vice president and general manager of the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday following an investigation into his professional conduct.

Murray will enroll in a program for alcohol abuse.

“First and foremost, we apologize on behalf of the organization to anyone affected by misconduct from Bob,” Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli said in a statement. “We expect every member of our organization to be treated with respect and will not stand for abuse of any kind.

“Bob tendered his resignation this morning, while also informing us of his decision to enter an alcohol abuse program. While we do not condone his conduct, we fully support his efforts to improve his physical and mental health by asking for help.

“We will now begin a methodical, extensive search for a permanent general manager to lead us forward. We expect to complete this process no later than next summer.”

Jeff Solomon will be interim general manager.

Murray issued the following statement through the Ducks:

“I want to apologize to anyone adversely affected by my behavior. I vow to make changes to my life, starting with enrolling in a treatment program. I want to thank Henry and Susan Samueli, and Michael Schulman, as working for them has been one of the highlights of my career. As I step away from the Ducks, I will focus my attention on where it should be: improving my life for the betterment of my family and friends.”

The NHL issued the following statement:

“We support the decision by Bob Murray to resign his position as General Manager of the Anaheim Ducks. While we understand that he is seeking appropriate counseling and treatment for his personal issues, there is no excuse and there is no place in our League for the type of behavior that was recently reported through the NHL Hotline. We thank the Ducks’ organization for its prompt and appropriate response to Hotline reports. The League and its Clubs are committed to a safe and welcoming workplace across the NHL and will continue to take any and all action necessary to achieve that goal.”

Murray joined the Ducks as senior vice president of hockey operations in 2005 and was named general manager Nov. 12, 2008. The 66-year-old was GM of the Chicago Blackhawks for three seasons from 1997-1999 after working for two seasons as Chicago’s assistant GM under Bob Pulford.

The Ducks announced Tuesday that Murray had been placed on administrative leave pending the results of an ongoing investigation into his professional conduct.

“We recently became aware of accusations of improper professional conduct against Bob Murray,” the Ducks said in a statement. “After internal review, we enlisted Shephard Mullin to perform an independent investigation. Upon recommendation from their initial findings, we have decided to place Bob on administrative leave pending final results.”

Murray played 1,008 NHL games as a defenseman during 15 seasons with the Blackhawks and scored 514 points (132 goals, 382 assists).

Anaheim was 512-357-123 in 14 seasons with Murray as GM, including 7-4-3 this season.

Murray was voted NHL general manager of the year in 2014 after Anaheim went 54-20-8 and finished first in the Pacific Division before losing to the Los Angeles Kings in seven games in the Western Conference Second Round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Murray coached the Ducks for final 26 games of the 2018-19 season after firing Randy Carlyle. They went 14-11-1.

By Frank Seravalli. dailyfaceoff.com

The Anaheim Ducks placed executive vice president and general manager Bob Murray on administrative leave on Tuesday after initial findings from an internal review and independent investigation for “improper professional conduct” warranted his immediate removal from the team.

Murray, 66, has been employed by the Ducks since 2005 and is the third-longest tenured GM in the NHL behind only Nashville’s David Poile and San Jose’s Doug Wilson.

The Ducks said in a statement the team “recently” became aware of the accusations and after internal review, enlisted Los Angeles-based law firm Sheppard Mullin to conduct an independent investigation.

“Upon recommendation from their initial findings, we have decided to place Bob on administrative leave pending final results,” the statement read.

The Ducks are expected to be in receipt of additional findings in the coming days, according to sources. Murray was with the Ducks in Vancouver on Tuesday when the news was delivered, he was to return home to Anaheim on his his own.

Multiple league and team sources tell Daily Faceoff that Murray is under investigation for allegations of creating a toxic workplace environment by way of his repeated verbal abuse and harassment of Ducks players, coaches and personnel, plus his intimidation tactics and temper tantrums that fostered a culture of fear throughout the organization.

“Working for Bob Murray was pure daily mental warfare,” one source said. “The abuse was endless. Crazy text messages to players and staff berating them for their performance and threats of job security happened with regularity. These weren’t one-time slip-ups or mistakes. These were regular explosions and eruptions.”

It is unclear how or why Murray’s behavior went unchecked for so long, given that so many people associated with the Ducks organization bore witness to it. This season marks Murray’s 45th consecutive year in the NHL; Murray was promoted to Ducks GM on Nov. 12, 2008.

Another source said: “There’s not just one skeleton in the closet here with ‘Murph,’” as Murray is known by his nickname around the NHL. “The list of people who have felt his wrath first-hand over the years is long.”

The Ducks named Jeff Solomon as interim GM on Tuesday afternoon in Murray’s place. Soloman was hired in Anaheim this past offseason from the rival Los Angeles Kings as vice president of hockey operations and assistant GM.

Murray was hired in Anaheim by then-GM Brian Burke in July 2005 as senior vice president of hockey operations. He was then promoted to general manager in 2008 by owners Henry and Susan Samueli, when Burke vacated his post mid-season to join Toronto. Under Murray’s watch, the Ducks advanced to two Western Conference finals (2015 and 2017), won five division titles and qualified for the playoffs eight times in a 10-year stretch before entering a rebuild over the last three campaigns.

Prior to 2005, Murray spent six years as scout with the Vancouver Canucks (1999-2005) and was the Chicago Blackhawks’ GM for parts of three seasons from 1997 to 1999.

Murray spent 25 years in the Chicago organization, including his front office tenure, where he played all 1,008 of his NHL regular season games roaming the Blackhawks’ blue line.

Murray’s investigation was announced exactly two weeks to the day after the Blackhawks’ cover-up of the 2010 sexual assault for former player Kyle Beach by then-video coach Brad Aldrich resulted in executives Stan Bowman and Al MacIsaac, as well as former head coach Joel Quenneville, losing their jobs.

On Oct. 27, 2021, one day after the Blackhawks’ independent investigation findings were announced, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sent a memorandum to all 32 front offices reminding all league and club personnel, including players, are required to immediately [NHL memo’s underlined emphasis] report conduct “on or off the ice that is clearly inappropriate, unlawful or demonstrably abusive, or that may violate the league’s policies.”

The NHL solicits anonymous reporting for incidents relating to abuse of influence, aggressive behavior, bullying, harassment, workplace health and safety, intimidation, physical violence and other unethical behavior or misconduct – among a whole host of other racism, domestic violence and sexual assault incidents – via the league’s third party reporting hot line.

Bettman wrote in the memo that the league is committed to having a culture that is safe, inclusive, free from abuse and harassment and all forms of unethical behavior or misconduct – and it would appear that Murray is the first person from outside Chicago’s organization to be under fire as a result of that reporting.