Two time Stanley Cup Champion and former defensemen and coach Bob Murdoch has died at the age of 76, the NHL Alumni Association announced Friday.
The NHL Alumni Association is deeply saddened to learn that Bob Murdoch has passed away at the age of 76.
Bob had an illustrious @NHL career both on and off the ice. In his first three seasons playing, Bob became a 2x Stanley Cup Champion with the @CanadiensMTL in 1970-71 and… pic.twitter.com/fgA4U9Sve5
— NHL Alumni (@NHLAlumni) August 4, 2023
Murdoch had previously been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinsonism and Alzheimer’s in 2019, the announcement said. (RELATED: Chicago Blackhawks Owner Rocky Wirtz Dies Unexpectedly At 70)
The defenseman scored 278 points in 757 NHL games for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames, whom he would eventually go on to help coach as an assistant, the Alumni Association said.
As a player Murdoch hoisted the Stanley Cup twice within his first three seasons in Montreal, winning the championship with the Canadiens in 1971 and 1973, according to the Alumni Association. His efforts helming the Jets earned him the Jack Adams Award in 1990, awarded to the NHL’s coach of the year.
Murdoch was let go from Winnipeg after the 1991 season and went on to assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks before moving on to coach in Europe, the NHL said.
Murdoch’s former teammate and current Canadian Parliamentarian Ken Dryden penned a Toronto Sun op-ed last year, noting the defenseman did not have a “crashing, bashing game,” but said that Murdoch was smart and played with his head, even mentioning that he was a math major at Waterloo University. “The real damage, as we’ve come to know, arises more often from routine hits to the head, over a game, over a season, over a career, cumulatively, lots of them, the vast majority of them unpenalized,” Dryden wrote.