Murray Gets Swept Out as Flyer Coach

One week after he said his team was “choking” in the Stanley Cup finals, Terry Murray was fired Friday as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.

General Manager Bob Clarke cited “problems that existed between the coach and the players” in dismissing Murray, who took Philadelphia to its first Stanley Cup finals since 1987.

Murray, on vacation outside Toronto and not available for comment, has been offered a job within the organization, but Clarke declined to say what it was.

Clarke mentioned the problems between Murray and the players in a release announcing the firing but refused to go into detail at a subsequent press conference.

“The problems I felt we had will remain internal,” Clarke said. “I just felt that the problems we had weren’t going to go away. For us to go forward, this was the start of it.

“It wasn’t their [the players’] decision. It’s my responsibility and I talked to people in the organization who I trust.”

Clarke said he would wait until after the June 21 NHL draft before naming a new coach. He acknowledged that assistant coach Keith Acton was a candidate. Another possibility is former Flyer Bill Barber, who coached the team’s Philadelphia Phantoms farm club.

The Flyers won playoff series in five games over Pittsburgh, Buffalo and the New York Rangers, but Philadelphia was embarrassed in the finals by the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Flyers in four games.

Murray, never a particular favorite among his players, lost whatever respect his team had for him with a remark the day before the Red Wings won the final game of the series last Saturday.

After the Flyers were humiliated, 6-1, in Game 3, Murray said his team was “in a choking situation,” a comment that angered a number of players, including captain Eric Lindros.

Murray, 118-68-30 with the Flyers, chastised Lindros at the end of the season for taking retaliatory penalties that resulted in a two-game suspension for the team captain as the Flyers were battling for the best record in the Eastern Conference.