Details aren’t exactly public, but the Anaheim Ducks seem to be getting out ahead of possible story making front-page news. Executive Vice President and General Manager Bob Murray has been placed on leave pending an ongoing investigation into an incident or incidents related to professional conduct.
The Ducks added that they will not have any further comment until the investigation is complete.
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In a statement released by the team, they write: “We recently became aware of accusations of improper professional conduct against Bob Murray.” They add, “After an internal review, we enlisted Shephard Mullin to perform an independent investigation. Under recommendation from their initial findings, we decided to place Bob on administrative leave pending final results.”
Vice president of hockey operations and assistant GM Jeff Solomon will take over as interim general manager.
Important to note here is that the investigation is already underway and that Murray is being separated from the team suggests something inappropriate has been discovered and his leave comes as a “recommendation from their initial findings.”
It’s not clear what the professional conduct miscue is, but there is a wide range of things that could be going on here and it’s not necessarily related to sexual abuse, meaning a connection to the Chicago Blackhawks or comparing the two stories is premature. That said, Murray has a bit of a reputation in the NHL and once threw a chair that struck a woman in the Joe Louis Press Box following the Duck’s Game 7 Western Conference Final loss in 2009. He was cleared in 2012 on a technicality and it was deemed to be an “accident”.
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN writes, “The lack of surprise from sources about Bob Murray being placed on leave and being investigated is … jarring.”
Murray, 66, has been the Ducks’ GM since November of 2008 and is the NHL’s third-longest tenured GM behind David Poile of Nashville and Doug Wilson of San Jose.
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