PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Douglas Murray didn’t take shit as a hockey player.
But now he is dishing out scathing criticism of Swedish hockey and the SHL.
– When I no longer work for Djurgården, I can speak freely, he tells SportExpressen.
He was the fighter that all Swedes loved to see run over people on the ice in North America. Douglas Murray will always be remembered for his tough playing style and that he never backed down in hockey games.
Murray’s career
The big breakthrough in the NHL came in the 2005/06 season with the San Jose Sharks. Not many Swedes were aware of him when he left the country to play junior hockey in the USA as a 17-year-old.
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Murray played a total of nine seasons and 518 games in the world’s best hockey league NHL, as well as one season in HockeyAllsvenskan with Djurgården during a lockout season before his career ended in 2015. After his playing career, the hockey profile has found love in the golf icon Jesper Parneviks daughter Penny Parnevik and today they are married and have children.
READ MORE: When Douglas Murray showed total disrespect on the ice – and offered “Big Buff” the biggest flight of his career
Douglas’ new job
The 43-year-old has also kept one foot in the hockey world. Right now he is working on a project together with the former NHL player Alexander Steen to help other hockey players after their careers have ended.
– I know many old NHL players who have a dark time after their career, they have problems with alcohol, drugs or financial problems. It is easy to raise the standard of living when you become a professional and then it is easy to end up in mental illness. Alexander and I want to build an organization for the European countries that supports NHL players after their careers. It is fantastic to play in the NHL and it gives so many opportunities in life, but when the carpet is pulled away, many do not know where to go, says Murray in a long interview with SportExpressen.
– An “ordinary” person goes through crossroads all his life. Which high school to go to, which university and so on. For us hockey players, the bridge is obvious, it’s hockey all the way. We have then not experienced any clear good choice until we end our career and then we can also end up in free fall. That’s why we want to build something that allows us to give NHL players the best help after their career with support and advice.
Douglas Murray also worked for the favorite team Djurgården during the past season in a role as key account manager on the corporate side. However, it was another short stay for him at the club.
– I chose to resign now to focus on other things, but I don’t know if the last chapter with Djurgården has been written. I will always be available to help the club so we will see what happens in the future, but right now I have no professional connection to Djurgården other than that I always want their absolute best, he says in the interview.
READ MORE: When Douglas Murray offered the super penalty that had made Datsyuk jealous
Criticism of the SHL
Djurgården was also just one game away from bouncing back to the SHL again after the exit from the top league last year. But Murray was just as devastated as all the other zookeepers when Modo won the seventh and final final game to step up to hockey’s fine room again.
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When the hockey profile has now collected his thoughts, he directs clear criticism of Swedish hockey and wants to radically change the SHL.
– Now that I no longer work for Djurgården, I can also speak more freely. To be honest, I don’t like the Swedish system where you get kicked out if you have a bad season. Sending teams up and down… It does not create stability. Instead, I think that the SHL should be expanded and, just like in the NHL, teams that do not do well enough over time will be kicked out, says Murray to the evening newspaper and continues his reasoning:
– I want it to be more about a season. Look at clubs like Djurgården, Brynäs and maybe even Björklöven. They have a history and a supporter base that belongs in the SHL. The system we have now was created so incredibly long ago. It’s the same with the gun laws in the USA from the 18th century, it’s idiocy that it continues to exist there.
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