Image by Getty Images via @daylifeHere is an other interesting article on the hiring of Andy Murray. I do think by hiring a former NHL coach Andy Murray proves that Western Michigan is committed to their college hockey program. I think it also proves that WMU is ready to make the next step to be a big time player on the national college hockey scene.Former head coach Jeff Blashill got the WMU on the right track before leaving WMU after one season to join the Detroit Red Wings.
I have heard some say that Murray has never coached college hockey and that's true but he did serve as the head coach for Shattuck-St. Mary's School during the 1998–99 season.
KALAMAZOO — Western Michigan University did everything right last year in resurrecting its hockey program.
It added oomph to its commitment to the sport, struck gold in hiring its coach and then rewarded him handsomely when he delivered a season beyond anyone's dreams.
WMU, in the college hockey world, had arrived as a player. It was perfect timing, too, considering this summer of flux that's upsetting stomachs in a suddenly fragile sport.
Then the National Hockey League, the beloved Detroit Red Wings of all teams, robbed the Broncos of everything, tearing Jeff Blashill away earlier this month. It was a harsh reminder to a university that it has its limits.
Monday, WMU showed hockey — the NHL included — its growing teeth, flying in former St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings coach Andy Murray to replace Blashill.
A news conference is scheduled for noon Tuesday.
This wasn't eye-for-an-eye retribution toward the NHL. But, perhaps for WMU, it feels a little like it — as satisfying as it is important. The Broncos' new currency — major program-like dollars (expected to be about $275,000 per year) — has lured a coach who would have been an unfathomable hire a year ago.
