http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/hockey/canadiensstory.html?id=90c24863-f1af-46de-89e1-a0431c662bae&k=5400

 

By BILL BEACON
 
When Garth Murray was traded to the Canadiens, the feisty forward found himself in a good spot, playing for defensive-minded coaches Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau


Garth Murray might have ended up on just the right team when he was acquired by the Canadiens on Sept. 30 - one day before the start of the NHL regular season.

The 6-foot-2 winger found himself in an organization loaded with small, quick forwards that was looking for players like him - grinders with size and muscle.

And with Bob Gainey as general manager and head coach and Guy Carbonneau joining in midseason as head-coach-in-waiting, Murray didn't have to score a lot of goals or make any fancy plays to impress the bosses.

During their playing days, Gainey and Carbonneau were two of the league's best defensive forwards.

"The coaches I have here have made a living from being really strong defensively and killing penalties," Murray said. "They were really great all-around players and that's what I've tried to do all my life. If I needed any coaches who would appreciate that, those are the two guys right there."

After starting the season with Hamilton in the American Hockey League and working his way slowly into the Canadiens lineup after his call-up in December, Murray played the final 18 games of the regular season and kept his spot when the playoffs started.

The Regina native, who had no previous NHL playoff experience, has skated on a checking line with Radek Bonk and Niklas Sundstrom, two players coming off sub-par seasons who have lifted their games for the playoffs.

Murray was named the third star in Wednesday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Hurricanes after logging 12:38 of ice time, including 7:07 while the Canadiens were shorthanded, contributing with some big hits and blocked shots.

And with crashing centre Steve Begin out with a knee injury, the Canadiens needed "energy" players who can keep the team on its toes with aggressive forechecking and hitting.

"You've got to try to find yourself a role," Murray said. "Every year, I've tried to get better defensively and on the penalty kill and make sure I bring energy every night to the guys.

"That's sort of what I've settled into."

The 23-year-old was a decent scorer in junior hockey with the Regina Pats, scoring 33 goals in 2001-02 and being named to Canada's world junior team.

He was taken in the third round of the 2001 draft by the New York Rangers and spent most of three seasons with their AHL club in Hartford. He played 20 regular-season games for New York in 2003-04, scoring one goal.

Gainey shipped underperforming winger Marcel Hossa to the Rangers for Murray in the first of three moves this season to add size to the club. He later dealt for tough guy Aaron Downey and big defenceman Todd Simpson.

In 36 games for Montreal, Murray had five goals, one assist and 44 penalty minutes, but showed himself a strong forechecker who, although he's not a full-time enforcer, is willing to drop the gloves when challenged.

On a Montreal team that has been short of physical play in recent years, Murray proved a useful addition.

"New York hardly had any injuries at all this year," he said. "They maybe had 10 games all year for guys in the AHL, so there wouldn't have been much opportunity for guys like myself. So the trade's been a blessing for me, for sure."

While Murray played during the Canadiens' drive for a playoff spot in the final month of the season, veteran players like Sundstrom and winger Jan Bulis spent plenty of nights in the press box.

But once the playoffs started, all three have skated a regular shift and found effective roles on the team.

"I'm not surprised, because they're good players," Gainey said. "It's about finding the right place for them and hoping to find them at the upper part of that arc of their play.

"Murray's a slightly different example in that he's gained momentum as the year went on - starting in the AHL, getting a few games, then going back. That's a different player at a different time in his career than Jan Bulis or Niklas Sundstrom."

Now, Murray hopes he is in the NHL to stay, although he won't take that for granted.

"You always try to improve your game and bring more to the team," he said. "It's a process.

"You have to keep getting better. For myself, it's been a good step this year and hopefully, it will keep building through the playoffs and keep going next year, as well."

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006


Doing what he's supposed to do, Garth Murray pounds Hurricanes' Aaron Ward during Game 2 of the playoff series.