Former National Hockey League centre Troy Murray of Calgary, Alberta passed away on Saturday at the age of 63 according to Bridget Reilly of the New York Post. The cause of death was cancer.
Murray played 15 NHL seasons with five franchises from 1981 to 1996. He played with the Chicago Blackhawks for a dozen seasons (1981 to 1991 and 1993 to 1994), the Winnipeg Jets for two seasons (1991 to 1993), the Ottawa Senators for two seasons (1994 to 1995), the Pittsburgh Penguins for one season (1995), and the Colorado Avalanche for one season (1995 to 1996).
In 1985-86 with the Black Hawks, Murray won the Selke Trophy presented to the game’s best defensive forward. In 1995-96, he was part of the Avalanche franchise that won the Stanley Cup.
In 915 regular season games, Murray had 230 goals and 354 assists for 584 points. He was a +53 with 875 points, 129 power-play points, 33 shorthanded points, 33 game-winning goals, four hat-tricks and 1536 shots on goal.
Murray was initially the Chicago Black Hawks’s third round pick, 57th overall, in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He played with the St. Albert Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and was considered an icon in the region west of Edmonton. After recording 180 points in 120 AJHL games, the Troy Murray Arena in St. Albert opened in 1992.
On the international level, Murray was part of the Canadian team that won the gold medal at the 1982 World Junior Hockey Championship in Minnesota. After his retirement from playing hockey, Murray was a hockey broadcaster in Chicago.
