| Murray Oliver | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born | (1937-11-14)November 14, 1937 | ||
| Died | November 23, 2014(2014-11-23) (aged 77) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Boston Bruins Detroit Red Wings Minnesota North Stars Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| Playing career | 1958–1975 | ||
Murray Clifford Oliver (November 14, 1937 – November 23, 2014) was a Canadian professionalice hockeycentre, coach, and scout.[1] Murray also playedMinor League Baseball for theBatavia Indians, then an affiliate of theCleveland Indians.[2]
Oliver grew up in Hamilton and played junior hockey with theHamilton Tiger Cubs of theOntario Hockey Association. After scoring 90 points in 52 games as a 20-year-old, he signed a professional contract and was assigned to theEdmonton Flyers, an affiliate of theDetroit Red Wings of theNational Hockey League (NHL). As an NHL rookie during the 1959-60 season, he scored 20 goals. His first NHL goal occurred on November 21, 1959, in a 3–3 tie versus Boston. However, Detroit was loaded at the centre position, which made Oliver expendable. He was traded to theBoston Bruins partway through the next season.[3]
Oliver played for the Bruins until 1967. While in Boston, Oliver centred the B.O.W. line with wingersJohnny Bucyk andTommy Williams, where he starred as a crafty stickhandler and patient playmaker. He put up an NHL career-high 68 points in 1964, despite knee surgery the prior season.[4] He was traded in 1967 to theToronto Maple Leafs, where he centred a line for three years withBob Pulford andRon Ellis.[3]
Oliver was traded on May 22, 1970 (announced May 26) to theMinnesota North Stars in exchange forTerry O'Malley, the rights toBrian Conacher and cash. Previously, the Maple Leafs had attempted to trade Oliver to theSt. Louis Blues for goaltenderJacques Plante, but an excess of centres for St. Louis prevented the deal.[5] Similarly, theChicago Black Hawks were involved in a possible trade, but Chicago's price of Oliver andBob Pulford in exchange forJim Pappin was too high for the Maple Leafs, prompting the trade to Minnesota.[5] Oliver played five seasons with the North Stars. He scored an NHL career-high 27 goals in 1971-72. In 1975, after a bitter contract dispute with Stars management, he retired.
In 18 seasons, Oliver played 1127 regular season games and scored 274 goals with 454 assists for a total of 728 points. He played in theNHL All-Star Game five times. After retiring he was hired by former teammateLou Nanne as Minnesota's assistant coach. He worked with the club until the1985–86 NHL season, with 37 games as head coach.[6] He became a scout with theVancouver Canucks and later took over as the club's director of pro scouting.[3] On November 23, 2014, he died of a heart attack at the age of 77.[7][8][9]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1953–54 | Burlington Mohawks | CJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1953–54 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1954–55 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 39 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1955–56 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 52 | 17 | 42 | 59 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1957–58 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 52 | 34 | 56 | 90 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 1957–58 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 64 | 33 | 34 | 67 | 35 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1959–60 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 54 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1959–60 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 16 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 49 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 21 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 17 | 29 | 46 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 65 | 22 | 40 | 62 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 24 | 44 | 68 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 65 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 18 | 42 | 60 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 65 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 76 | 14 | 36 | 50 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1969–70 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 76 | 14 | 33 | 47 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 61 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 1971–72 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 77 | 27 | 29 | 56 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1972–73 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 75 | 11 | 31 | 42 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1973–74 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 78 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 80 | 19 | 15 | 34 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1,127 | 274 | 454 | 728 | 320 | 35 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 10 | ||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| Minnesota North Stars | 1982–83 | 37 | 18 | 12 | 7 | 43 | 2nd in Norris | Lost in Division Finals |
On June 25, 1958, Murray was assigned to play for theBatavia Indians, where scouts hailed him as "one of the greatest athletes we've ever seen". In his debut, which was delayed because of a broken arm he suffered during the hockey season, he went hitless in three at-bats and committed one error. Over only 8 more games, mostly at third base, he batted .185 and committed an error per game, and was released by the Indians.[2]
Oliver's granddaughterLiz Schepers[10] played ice hockey for theOhio State Buckeyes, winning the2022 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament. Competing in thePWHL, Schepers won the Isobel Cup with the Minnesota Frost. For the 2025-26 season, Schepers signed with theBoston Fleet
| Preceded by | Head coach of the Minnesota North Stars 1983 | Succeeded by |