SportsHubLA

Earlier, we posted our conversation with Kings GM Dean Lombardi after Thursday afternoon’s introduction of Terry Murray as next head coach of the Los Angeles Kings. I also had a few moments to speak with Murray himself. Not too much electricity in the conversation, as Murray couldn’t get all that specific about the team (he hasn’t seen many of these guys, especially the young ones, play all that much), but did share some of his philosophies of coaching, and responded to Lombardi’s contention that the Kings job, because of the difficulty in balancing the desire to win and the need to grow a program around inexperienced talent, is the toughest in hockey.

“It’s a very, very difficult job, but the great thing I know is that Mr. Anschutz, Tim Leiweke, (Lombardi), Ron Hextall, and the rest of the staff here know exactly what they want to do, and there’s an understanding and a commitment to it. That is very beneficial to a coach coming in,” he said.

How things go for Murray depends a great deal on how the expectations for him and the team are calibrated, and how Murray responds in the effort to meet them. It’ll be interesting to watch it play out.

Terry Murray Interview

Discuss: