Ex-Jet captain will be ’emotional’

Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011

CHICAGO -- He may be one game behind but former Winnipeg Jets captain Troy Murray expects to be a little wobbly with emotion as he watches his former team skate for the first time back in the NHL tonight.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/10/2011 (5107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CHICAGO — He may be one game behind but former Winnipeg Jets captain Troy Murray expects to be a little wobbly with emotion as he watches his former team skate for the first time back in the NHL tonight.

Murray, now a radio broadcaster for the Chicago Blackhawks, didn’t see the Jets’ home opener Sunday but he will watch them skate against the Hawks tonight at United Center.

Murray was the captain of the Jets from 1991 to 1992, before being traded back to Chicago. He played 110 games for Winnipeg.

Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press archives
Troy Murray, seen checking Jari Kurri in 1992, wishes the game against Chicago was in Winnipeg. — Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press archives Troy Murray, seen checking Jari Kurri in 1992, wishes the game against Chicago was in Winnipeg.

“To me it’s something special,” Murray said Wednesday. “I’m very happy for the city of Winnipeg that the NHL is back in town. Tomorrow’s game is going to be for me, emotional. I loved playing in Winnipeg. I loved the people there. I loved the time I spent in Winnipeg.

“To have them come back in here, well, I’m a little disappointed we’re not going there so I could get back to Winnipeg, but for them to come in for the second game of the season and to be able to see the new uniforms, and catch a glimpse of Winnipeg being back in the NHL is going to be something special for me.”

— CLAUDE-SPEAK ON A/B GAMES: “They know what goes on: if you don’t play your ‘A’ game the likelihood is you’ll miss shifts or periods or… it depends on how many guys have ‘B’ games and ‘A’ games.

“Your team is driven by a motor, the motor is the competition. You have to create competition — that’s the motor that drives the team. So, if I sense a guy has got a ‘B’ game and all others have an ‘A’, then you move the ‘B’ down and move up an ‘A.’ It’s pretty simple.”

— FYI: Goaltender Chris Mason was back at practice Wednesday after missing Tuesday to be with his wife following the birth of their second girl. Asked who would be starting against the Blackhawks, Noel said: “If I told you, you guys would tell Chicago.”

— NOTABLE: Portage’s Troy Bodie has signed a two-way deal with the Anaheim Ducks that will pay him $550,000 in the NHL, $105,000 in the AHL. He has already reported to the Syracuse Crunch.

— THE BLING STAYS HIDDEN: Andrew Ladd has two Stanley Cup rings, one from his days with the Hawks, the other while with the Carolina Hurricanes. Seldom, if ever, will you see the Jets’ captain sporting one on his finger.

“I guess you wear it on special occasions and stuff, but for the most part it stays in the safe and if people want to see it you show it,” said Ladd. “It’s tough to walk around with it and go incognito so it stays in the safe. Obviously, it’s a prized possession and it’s fun to show to family and friends, but we’re trying to work towards that in here, too, so it can stay locked up.”

— Campbell-Tait