Troy Murray
| Troy Murray | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
July 31, 1962 Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Died |
March 7, 2026 (aged 63) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Chicago Blackhawks Winnipeg Jets Ottawa Senators Pittsburgh Penguins Colorado Avalanche | ||
| National team |
 Canada | ||
| NHL draft |
57th overall, 1980 Chicago Blackhawks | ||
| Playing career | 1982–1997 | ||
Troy Norman Murray (July 31, 1962 – March 7, 2026) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the colour analyst on WGN 720 radio broadcasts of Chicago Blackhawks hockey games. Murray was born in Calgary, Alberta, but grew up in St. Albert, Alberta.
Playing career
[edit]Amateur
[edit]Murray played part of two seasons (1978–1980) with the St. Albert Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He also played briefly in two games with the Lethbridge Broncos of the Western Hockey League. In two seasons at the University of North Dakota, he was twice named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Second All-Star Team in 1981 and 1982. He led North Dakota in scoring as a freshman and helped them capture an NCAA Title in 1982. Murray was chosen to play for Team Canada at the 1982 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and was named team captain and led the team to a gold medal victory.
Professional
[edit]Murray was drafted out of the University of North Dakota by the Chicago Black Hawks with the 57th overall selection in the third round of the 1980 NHL entry draft.[1] He made his National Hockey League debut in the 1981–82 season playoffs on April 4, 1982, against the Minnesota North Stars in which he scored his first NHL goal. The Black Hawks were defeated in the Campbell Conference Finals by the Vancouver Canucks. His first NHL regular season goal came against the Toronto Maple Leafs and he finished his rookie season with 16 points in 54 games. Murray's career peaked during the 1985–86 season, as he scored 99 points. He was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy for best defensive forward in the league that year.
In 1991-92, Murray was traded to the Winnipeg Jets along with teammate Warren Rychel for Bryan Marchment and Chris Norton. Murray was named team captain and finished with 47 points in 79 games that season. His stay in Winnipeg was short-lived as he was reacquired by the Blackhawks in 1992–93. A year later he was again traded, this time to the Ottawa Senators. He was the only player on the team to finish with a plus rating. Murray was traded in 1994-95 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played in 13 games with them before signing as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche for the 1995–96 season.[2] Murray and the Avalanche made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals where they defeated the Florida Panthers in four games. Murray won his first and only Stanley Cup with the Avalanche. Murray remained in hockey for one more year with the Chicago Wolves of the International Hockey League before retiring in 1997.
Murray finished his career scoring 230 goals and 354 assists in 915 career NHL games. Murray played in twelve seasons with the Blackhawks, and ranks 18th on the Blackhawks all-time assists list with 291, 19th on the all-time points list with 488, and 21st all-time in goals with 197.[3]
Broadcasting career
[edit]After retirement Murray joined the Blackhawks TV crew as the studio analyst, a position he held from the start of the 1998–99 season until November 13, 2003. Troy was then named TV color commentator teaming up with Pat Foley for two seasons in which their play by play was simulcast on the then radio flagship WSCR.
Before the start of the 2006–07 season Foley was let go and the radio and television broadcasts were separated. At this time Murray was paired with former New York Islanders voice John Wiedeman. Since pairing with Wiedeman, the duo has gone on to call three Stanley Cup Championships.
In June 2015, Murray and broadcast partners John Wiedeman and Judd Sirott received top honours in the Chicago Market "Best Radio Play-By-Play" category at the Illinois Broadcasters Association Silver Dome Awards. They had previously won the award in 2011 and 2014. He and Wiedeman also received top honours in the "Best Sports Story" category at the 2012 IBA Silver Dome Awards.
Murray announced he was diagnosed with cancer on August 9, 2021, but continued to broadcast albeit with a diminished workload.[4]
In August 2022, the Blackhawks announced Murray and Patrick Sharp together succeeded Eddie Olczyk as the team's TV color commentator.[5] However, Murray was replaced by Darren Pang before the 2023 season as the team's TV color commentator.[4] Murray moved back to the radio booth to provide color commentary.[6]
Death
[edit]Murray died in Chicago from cancer on March 7, 2026, at the age of 63.[7][8]
Career statistics
[edit]Regular season and playoffs
[edit]| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1978–79 | St. Albert Saints | AJHL | 60 | 33 | 47 | 80 | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | St. Albert Saints | AJHL | 60 | 53 | 47 | 100 | 101 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Lethbridge Broncos | WHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | University of North Dakota | WCHA | 38 | 33 | 45 | 78 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | University of North Dakota | WCHA | 42 | 22 | 29 | 51 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 1982–83 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 54 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1983–84 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 61 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 1984–85 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 80 | 26 | 40 | 66 | 82 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 24 | ||
| 1985–86 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 80 | 45 | 54 | 99 | 94 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1986–87 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 77 | 28 | 43 | 71 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 1987–88 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 79 | 22 | 36 | 58 | 96 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1988–89 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 79 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 113 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 25 | ||
| 1989–90 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 68 | 17 | 38 | 55 | 86 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 22 | ||
| 1990–91 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 75 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 74 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 1991–92 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 74 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 69 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1992–93 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 29 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | Indianapolis Ice | IHL | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 33 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 1995–96 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 63 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | ||
| 1996–97 | Chicago Wolves | IHL | 81 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 63 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 914 | 230 | 354 | 584 | 875 | 113 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 145 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Canada
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
1982 USA | |
International
[edit]| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Canada | WJC | 
|
7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | |
| 1987 | Canada | WC | 4th | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | |
| Junior totals | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | ||||
| Senior totals | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | ||||
Awards and honours
[edit]| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-WCHA Second Team | 1980–81 | [9] |
| All-WCHA Second Team | 1981–82 | [9] |
| NCAA Title | 1982 | |
| NHL | ||
| Frank J. Selke Trophy | 1986 | |
| Stanley Cup (Colorado Avalanche) | 1996 | |
References
[edit]- ^ "1980 NHL draft". hockeydraftcentral.com. 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ "Sportsline". USA Today. August 9, 1995. p. 5. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
(Colorado) also signed free-agent forward Troy Murray, 33, who played with Ottawa and Pittsburgh last season.
- ^ "Chicago Blackhawks ‑ All‑Time NHL Leaders".
- ^ a b Thompson, Phil (June 8, 2023). "Darren Pang's addition to Chicago Blackhawks broadcast booth is official, while Colby Cohen leaves with 'a lot of gratitude'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
- ^ Roumeliotis, Charlie (2022-08-25). "Blackhawks name Troy Murray, Patrick Sharp as TV analysts". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
- ^ "RELEASE: Blackhawks Announce 2025-26 Local Broadcast Schedule". Chicago Blackhawks. October 5, 2025.
- ^ Matheson, Jim (March 7, 2026). "St. Albert's Troy Murray, former Chicago Blackhawks centre and Stanley Cup winner, dead at 63". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
- ^ "Blackhawks Mourn Passing of Beloved Broadcaster and Alumni Troy Murray". NHL. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
External links
[edit]- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Troy Murray at IMDb
- 1962 births
- 2026 deaths
- Canadian ice hockey centres
- Chicago Blackhawks announcers
- Chicago Blackhawks draft picks
- Chicago Blackhawks players
- Colorado Avalanche players
- Frank Selke Trophy winners
- Lethbridge Broncos players
- National Hockey League broadcasters
- Ottawa Senators players
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- St. Albert Saints players
- Ice hockey people from Calgary
- Ice hockey people from St. Albert, Alberta
- Stanley Cup champions
- North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players
- Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) captains
- Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players
- 20th-century Canadian sportsmen
- NCAA men's ice hockey national champions
- Deaths from cancer in Illinois
