By: Steve McClure | Follow me on Twitter / X @stmcclure1993
Glen Murray, the Bruins’ first round draft pick in 1991, is celebrating his 52nd birthday today. He played right-wing over the course of two stints with Boston—from 1991-1995 and again from 2001-2008.
‘Muzz’, as Murray was known to teammates, showed real offensive potential in his first go-around with the organization. Playing on a third line with left-wing Brent Hughes and center Jozef Stumpel, the 21-year-old scored eighteen goals in 1993-94—his only full season of play in his early tenure with the Bruins. Boston, seeing a need for immediate offensive production for their inaugural FleetCenter opening in 1995, traded young potential, in Murray and center Bryan Smolinski, to Pittsburgh for the established power forward Kevin Stevens and rising talent Shawn McEachern.
After being moved to the Los Angeles Kings, Murray began to establish his professional game of putting a lofty number of shots on net (averaging close to 200 shots per year) and scoring 29 goals twice. In October of 2001, ‘Muzz’ was traded back to Boston, along with fellow Boston-returnee Jozef Stumpel, for Jason Allison and Mikko Eloranta. Murray exploded for 35 goals in 73 games with Boston that season, second on the team behind Bill Guerin’s 41 goals.
It was during this second iteration with the Bruins that Murray really showed his scoring prowess. He scored 32 or more goals for three straight years—including 44 lamp-lighters in 2002-03, a season in which he managed a mammoth 331 shots on goal. Finding chemistry with ‘Jumbo’ Joe Thornton, the 6’3” winger scored twelve power play goals and was named to play in the NHL All-Star game (a feat he duplicated in 2003-04 as well).
While playing in Boston, Murray produced at a 209-180-389 clip in 570 regular season games. Perhaps his biggest goal in a Boston uniform came in a playoff game on April 13, 2004—in double overtime–against Montreal. The game-winning strike came after a brutal Alexei Kovalev turnover, allowing Murray to rush the Montreal zone undisturbed and fire a low blocker-side rocket past Habs goaltender Jose Theodore. The win gave the Bruins a commanding three games to one lead over Montreal (a series which the Bruins would eventually lose in seven games).
Murray was named to the Bruins’ ‘All-Centennial Team’ last season. He made two All-Star game appearances while playing in Boston. Happy birthday, ‘Muzz’!
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