BIZARRE MURRAY HIRING AND FIRING LEAVES ‘BAD TASTE’

It was, by any standard, a bizarre situation: One brother replacing his fired brother as coach of an NHL club—something that had never happened in league history. Bryan Murray, 47, was fired Jan. 15 after the Washington Capitals lost eight in a row and fell from first to worst in the Patrick Division. He was replaced by Terry Murray, the 39-year-old kid brother who used to depend on Bryan for rides to hockey games; who, as a high school student in tiny Shawville, Que., had Bryan as a teacher; who spent six years as Bryan’s assistant learning the craft; who, for the last two seasons, was coaching prospects for Washington’s American League affiliate in Baltimore. Through seven full seasons and parts of two others behind the Capitals’ bench, Bryan had become the NHL’s…

L. A. GAVE UP A KING IN NICHOLLS TRADE

The New York Rangers filled their primary need without opening another hole. The Los Angeles Kings didn’t. The Rangers got the best player in the deal. The Kings didn’t. That’s why the Rangers won the Bernie Nicholls for Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Grana-to trade. They won it big. What a zoo the All-Star weekend was, between Nicholls coming in late after minor surgery and both teams denying that the deal had been done. The story of the trade was first broken Jan. 18 in New York and Los Angeles. It was reconfirmed the next day. It was announced Jan. 20, but not until after Nicholls had to endure a nerve-wracking day of endless speculation. “I wish they-had told me before I got here,” he said the day of the trade, the day before…

CHEERS JEERS

◼ Boston Bruin Gord Kluzak. It’s a risky business to predict how long the big defenseman’s battered left knee—scarred by 10 surgical procedures—will hold out. But one thing is certain. Kluzak is an exceptionally dedicated athlete who should be the easy winner of this year’s Bill Masterton Trophy. ◼ The NHL, The new format All-Star Weekend was not without its glitches, but the league should be commended for daring to be different. The old first-Tuesday-in-February routine did little or nothing to promote the sport. By going to a full weekend and including the oldtimers’ game and skills competition, the NHL created an event as opposed to an inconvenience. ◼ Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky. The dashing defenseman put in a half-hearted appearance in the skills competition. The Great One failed to show…

WAY WE WERE