[WGR 550]: If you want to see your team play in adversity this is a good game to see; this team is pretty good they're playing against.
[Murray]: Well yeah - that's just, probably - one of the better teams in the league. But, still have to be better than the first 20 minutes, obviously, and every team goes through these things: 3 games in 2.5 days, whatever you want to talk about. That's the - that's the American Hockey League. So, it's be ready to play and they played. The other team, Texas, played a quick game…they played a heavy game and it's who's going to respond and who's going to compete enough.
[WGR 550]: What's been your, I mean, I-I know you're - you know - fresh eyes in this thing, but what's been your impression as you've seen the tape of these guys who've come down for some of the games of this team? What - what's been your impressions?
[Murray]: I think they've played pretty hard. I think the young guys have a good role - they haven't been given anything - but they-they get ice time and they get ice time according to how they play. I think we have a couple good veteran guys here that provide leadership and good examples for our young kids. So, there are a couple guys I'd like to go forward with here. You know, they had a good run; everything looked pretty good. We have some - it's a pretty good mix here of kids and vets and maybe we just have to help them out a little bit more as far as talent level.
[WGR 550]: When you were watching – scouting - this team before, you probably knew what everybody had in terms of tools, you know, the prospects. But, since you've been around part of the organization, what have you learned about the makeup of some of the players and getting to know their personalities - like Larsson, Pysyk, guys like that?
[Murray]: Well, I mean, those guys - you know, look - they're pretty transparent from the outside looking in. Larsson is a real competitive bugger and, you know, he gives you everything he's got most nights and most shifts and I think we knew that about him when he was drafted by Minnesota. Pysyk is a very smart, steady defenseman that is probably a little bit better than I thought coming in a junior. I have to say that for sure - maybe a little different than I thought. In saying that, I want him to take big strides here and I don't him to be happy being a safe puck- moving defenseman; I want him to expect more of himself and I don't mean that in a negative. I think he's playing well. I just want him to - I want him to be driven every shift to be more than he is and, at the end of the day, at the NHL level he still may end up being what he is but I just think that he - I'd like to see him push himself offensively, push himself in the transition game a little more, and I think it will help his career down the road.
[WGR 550]: Tim, I have no idea what's going to happen with Miller, obviously. But, you know, a**uming he - if he does - move on, either now or at the end of the year, do you feel you have the goalie of the future in the organization right now?
[Murray]: We might. I don't - I haven't made that determination yet. We might. We have a couple good young goalies here. There's certainly - if one of them is the goalie of the future it's not the near future; it's a little bit down the road. I don't think either one of them are ready to, obviously, to step in and start for the Buffalo Sabres. So - goalies are a different animal and a different breed, and it takes time to figure out which guy is that guy and they usually sort it out and it takes a little more time than forwards and defenseman. But, certainly, both young guys here have taken strides. They're both good size which I like - I like big goalies. So, I think that I have to see the team play a little more than I have to make that determination. That would be the one position that I'm a little iffy on. Not iffy! I'll waffle on it. I don't waffle very often but I'm going to just leave that out there and let those guys decide who it is - if it is and who it is.
[WGR 550]: Ok. If there are some players moved - Steve Ott, or Matt Moulson, or Drew Stafford or whoever - obviously that will open up some spots on the NHL roster. Have you decided whether you're going to move up guys that are veterans who are here, like Kevin Porter say, or are you going to bring young players back up? Have you decided on that yet?
[Murray]: Well, I'm leaning - I'm leaning a certain way. I don't want to - that's an internal thing. Obviously, I don't wanna - I don't want to just completely gut this team. They're in a playoff spot now. I think that playoffs are an extremely important part of development for young players. I won a championship as a GM of a team. I didn't have much to do with - the Senators won - but I was part of it in 2011 in Binghamton. So, I think you can figure out which way I'm leaning as far as the vets coming up or the kids coming up. But, I certainly don't want to - I don't want to take all the kids from here and kind of leave the other kids in limbo here. So, I would like to see this team succeed this year.
[WGR 550]: Several weeks back, I think you said something that affected everything in player – players…the abundance of draft picks that you have. Is that still the case?
[Murray]: For sure. I mean, nothing's changed. I'm all ears and anything that can help the Sabre organization get better down the road - we know it's not going to be an extremely quick fix so it's going to take some time - and anything that's going to help us in the future I'm willing to listen to. So that's – I mean – you know, it sounds like picks are what we need. But, maybe it's a 22 year old that can't find a spot in the organization he's with now and that may be a high pick to get that guy. So as long as it's – as long as it stays with the program of being better in the near future, but not necessarily next year. It can be a player, it can be picks, it can be a young player being moved for a better young player or a future player, or it can be just the vets. You know, you have to have dance partners and I can tell you what I want to do but it will be dictated by what other people want to do, obviously.
[WGR 550]: How have the trade talks been – I mean - has it gone on a lot during the Olympic break?
[Murray]: Nope. Nothing. It's been very quiet. So, I'm a**uming people took holidays. It's a unique situation that, you know, there are a lot of veteran GMs that have been out a lot longer than I have and this is a time that maybe - last week, it was a week off maybe, and I didn't hear from anybody last week at all and I just think that it was – you can't make a trade anyway. But, I did get a text from a guy today so – a GM today – so I think now it will start to get back on course before you can actually make a trade.
[WGR 550]: You enjoying it? I mean, how's it going for you personally – is things settling down?
[Murray]: I don't get much enjoyment out of anything in life really. So yeah, I mean, how can you not enjoy it? But no it's – I love what I do, right? So, I just get in my truck and keep plugging away and go from one destination to the next. And, you know, I was in the office and around the staff for the last three or four days going to games at night and now I'm going to hit the road a little bit and do that part of the job. And I'm pretty pragmatic; you just put your head down and just keep going.
[WGR 550]: Are you trying to personally see the top 10, say on the…?
[Murray]: Oh 100% yeah; more than the top ten. But, we've got three seconds and potentially two firsts. So, you know, two of those seconds could become fifteen – nineteen – so, obviously, I have to see more than top ten. And, just by seeing the top thirty – you know - just taking your list out and looking at the top thirty and say, you're gonna see those guys three times each. You're going to see 75 guys that are on somebody's list. So, I've seen a lot of the guys so far this year. Not multiple viewings but, you know, I stayed out West after the prospect came and I caught the [???] and Ryan Harts and all those guys two-three times. And I have a good schedule in Ontario to catch Bennett and Dal Colle and Ekblad and those guys two or three times in a week. So, I'm on my way to…pretending I know something.
[WGR 550]: With Rochester being back with Buffalo now it does make it, probably, a lot easier again to see the top 5 men of other organizations.
[Murray]: Yeah I think it's crucial. We had that kind of situation in Ottawa with Binghamton. You know, after a game you have an injury and they can play the same night as you and you have a guy in a car to be at the skate the next day. When you have to start using planes and stuff like that to get players that you need right away it's a tough situation. So this is, to me, the greatest situation in the league. Besides being able to view your kids, besides being able to have a presence here - which they, trust me, they pay attention to when you walk through the room before a game - just the availability of players. Besides everything else that goes with it. So, I think it's an outstanding situation for sure. I'm a big component of something like this.