The Rock And Hard Place Summer Of Bryan Murray

Lost a little bit in the Daniel Alfredsson whirlwind was the unenviable situation that General Manager Bryan Murray was put in throughout the ordeal.

May 19, 2013; Ottawa, ON, CAN; Ottawa Senators right wing Daniel Alfredsson (11) controls the puck in the first period in game three of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Place. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Murray had to be patient and let Alfredsson make his decision on whether or not he was going to return.  Murray also had to abide by the internal salary cap set forth by owner Eugene Melnyk.  He was at the mercy of two opposing forces whose goals didn’t turn out to be symbiotic.

Perhaps the only mistake Murray made was the amount of time he took to reject the Alfredsson camp’s initial contract proposal.  If he had not dismissed it so quickly, there might have been some negotiation instead of the days of silence.  But that comes back to the internal pressure to stay under a particular number that his boss set forth.

Murray did pretty well in reacting quickly to bring in Clarke MacArthur via free agency and Bobby Ryan through trade, to ensure that the team on the ice was still a quality squad.

Murray had no control over the public relations fiasco that has encompassed the last month of the summer, but that could come to a climax when Daniel Alfredsson speaks publicly for the first time on Thursday.

Murray took a couple of gut shots on July 4th, but bounced back and although didn’t get the man most fans wanted, he earned the judges’ decision in terms of making his team better.

He was stuck between a rock (Alfredsson) and a hard place (Melnyk) and came out of it ok, or at least as well as could be expected in a no-win situation.