Andy Murray, fired as the Kings' coach with 12 games left last season and hired last month by the foundering St. Louis Blues, wasn't sure what kind of reception he'd get upon his return to Staples Center.
"You'd like to think that people appreciated how hard you worked at the job, but I can't control that," he said. "Usually my uncle was here from Palm Springs, so I always counted on one or two fans. He's not here tonight."
Murray need not have worried.
He couldn't take more than a few steps down the corridor outside the teams' locker rooms Thursday without being hailed by a security guard, member of the icemaking crew or other familiar face. Also there to greet him was broadcaster Bob Miller, who gave him a package wrapped in silver foil. It was a container of chocolate sauce made by Miller's wife, Judy, her traditional Christmas gift to club employees.
The gift was uncannily appropriate. The Kings were cupcakes and the Blues' 3-1 victory, their 11th in their last 15 games, was the cherry on top of Murray's happy return.
The pre-game announcement of Murray's name drew a smattering of applause from the few dozen early-arriving fans. His reception was slightly warmer -- and the crowd only slightly bigger -- during the first period when his image was projected onto the center-ice scoreboard above the message, "Thank you Andy for 7 years of tireless effort and dedication to the Kings."
Murray, of course, didn't look up. "I wish I'd seen it," he said. "I would have acknowledged the fans. I apologize for that."
His focus was on the ice, his hands and head vibrating with intensity, symbolic of his virtues and failings during the club-record 480 games he coached the Kings, winning more games than any other Kings coach -- 215 -- but also losing more, 176.
Murray worked hard, and he's the first to say so. He didn't know when to stop pushing or vary his message to freshen it and keep players engaged and motivated.
He said he hasn't changed his philosophy with his new team, which was 0-2-2 in his first four games and 11-2-2 since. He doesn't require injured players to report at 7 a.m. and depart before the rest of the team arrives to practice, a rule the Kings despised, but that's only because the Blues' practice facility can't accommodate it.
Nonetheless, Ray Bennett, his assistant with the Kings and now with the Blues, said Murray recognized that he had to heal psyches that were damaged during the Blues' horrible start.
