Washington Capitals: Top 5 greatest coaches of all-time

#4 Bryan Murray

Bryan Murray helped put the Capitals on the map and give them respectability across the entire NHL. He helped guide the Caps to their first 100 point season and won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year during that historic 1983-84 season.

Murray also helped coach the Caps to their first playoff series victory in 1984 as well as their first Game 7 victory in 1988 over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Murray went 25-28-13 for 63 points in 66 games in 1981-82. The next year he went 39-25-16 for 94 points. In 1983-84 and 1984-85, Murray had back to back 101 point seasons with a 48-27-5 and 46-25-9 records, respectively. In 1985-86, Murray was even better with a 50-23-7 record with 107 points.

In 1986-87, Murray went 38-32-10 for 86 points. The next year he went 38-33-9 for 85 points. In 1988-89 he went 41-29-10 for 92 points before going 18-24-4 in 46 games in 1989-90. Overall Murray spent nine seasons in Washington and went 343-246-83 for 769 points in 672 games.

Murray passed away on August 12, 2017. Besides coaching the Caps he also served as General Manager of the Ottawa Senators for nine years. He also worked with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Florida Panthers, and the Detroit Red Wings as General Manager. He worked in the NHL for 35 consecutive seasons and was responsible for Washington’s first ever playoff appearances.