Ottawa Senators' head coach and GM Bryan Murray.Sean Kilpatrick
The Ottawa Senators signed general manager Bryan Murray to a one-year contract extension Friday.
Murray joined the Senators in June 2004 and spent three years as the team's head coach before being named general manager on June 18, 2007. He was appointed executive vice-president of Senators Sports & Entertainment on July 1, 2009.
"Bryan has proven that he is the right man to lead this team," Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said in a release. "Our team is now in a position to not only be competitive each season, but also to contend for the Stanley Cup.
"Bryan and his staff have worked hard to build an organization that now has the depth at the National Hockey League level and in our farm system that should allow us to be competitive for many years to come. As we approach the trade deadline, playoffs and entry draft, we wanted to demonstrate our confidence in Bryan by extending his contract."
Ottawa is 113-88-23 during Murray's tenure as GM. The Senators (35-22-4, 74 points) have won 13 of their last 14 games and are third in the Eastern Conference standings.
"My goal from the time I was appointed to this position was to continue the proud and winning history of this organization and to make it one of the top-tier organizations in the NHL," said Murray. "I feel that we have moved this franchise into a strong position where we can challenge for the Stanley Cup each season while at the same time we're continuing to draft and develop top prospects who will help this team in the years to come."