Murray Knows

If there is one thing new Los Angeles Kings coach Terry Murray isn't afraid to admit... it's that he doesn't know something. Thanks to the incredibly invaluable Inside The Kings, I've begun to notice an emerging pattern in Coach Murray's interview style:

Question: Based on feedback you might have gotten, what do you think is the biggest change in him [Jason LaBarbera] from last year?

MURRAY: ``I don't know Barbs from before. What I've been told is that he's lost a lot of weight. He's physically in top shape. He's put in a great summer with a huge commitment to nutrition and working out. That's why he looks so fresh every day, I believe.

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Question: How much do you know about O'Sullivan's game?

MURRAY: ``I'll be very honest. I don't know him as a player.

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Question: O'Sullivan is supposed to be a big part of your team. The fact that he's not here, does that impact the way you prepare at all?

MURRAY: You know, quite honestly I don't know what I'm missing, because I don't know him yet.

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Terry Murray was asked about the schedule and the fact that the Kings have so many home games at the beginning and so many road games at the end. He said, in part, ``I don't know anything about scheduling; I just coach.

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Question: Is this a good situation for you, since this is your first look at the young players?

MURRAY: ``I know a couple of the guys who were a part of the Flyers organization in the past. Even a player like Matt Greene, coming from Edmonton, I really don't know him very well..."

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Question: Do you have a number, in your mind, of how many games you like your No. 1 goalie to play?

MURRAY: ``That's a tough one. I want him to play a lot. I don't know what that really means, but if you have a No. 1 goaltender, he's the guy that you've got to go with.

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Question: Are you familiar at all with Kyle Quincey?

MURRAY: ``No, I don't know him at all. Obviously our scouts have been out there watching him and they liked him and he was available.

If anything, I find Coach Murray's ability to admit he doesn't know something much more refreshing than the current state of coaching, where every Coach seems to think HE knows it all. Barry Melrose, I'm looking your way. You too, Denis Savard.

And Murray's complete ignorance of Patrick O'Sullivan and Jason LaBarbera might help us die-hard Kings fans realize that our 6 year run of being playoff free means our players don't attract the most attention from fans across the US and Canada. Even if those players are being over valued non-stop on LetsGoKings.

Watching Coach Murray give plenty of power play time to Oscar Moller, have 18 year old Drew Doughty lead the defense and keep Matt Moulson on the first line, he's already proved to me that he knows WAY more than Marc Crawford ever did.

But in fairness to Coach Murray, the Kings PR staff don't seem to know that much about him either. Again from Inside the Kings:

During pregame introductions, Staples Center public-address announcer David Courtney just introduced coach Terry Murphy. Yes, Murphy.