Murray Clifford Oliver (November 14, 1937 – November 23, 2014) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, coach, and scout. Murray also played

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

for the

Batavia Indians Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East I ...

, then an affiliate of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Playing career

Oliver grew up in Hamilton and played junior hockey with the Hamilton Tiger Cubs of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

. After scoring 90 points in 52 games as a 20-year-old, he signed a professional contract and was assigned to the

Edmonton Flyers The Edmonton Flyers are a defunct ice hockey team that was based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The team existed from 1940 until 1963, first as an amateur senior ice hockey team (1940–1951), and then as a professional minor league team. The Fly ...

, an affiliate of the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(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 the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

partway through the next season. Oliver played for the Bruins until 1967. While in Boston, Oliver centred the B.O.W. line with wingers

Johnny Bucyk John Paul "Chief" Bucyk (born May 12, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Having played most of his career with the Boston Bruins, he has been associated in one capacity or anothe ...

and Tommy 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. He was traded in 1967 to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

, where he centred a line for three years with

Bob Pulford Robert Jesse Pulford (born March 31, 1936) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League. He later served as head coach of the Kings before spendi ...

and

Ron Ellis Ronald John Edward Ellis (January 8, 1945 – May 11, 2024) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Ellis played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ellis won the Stanley Cup in 1967, and took part in th ...

. Oliver was traded on May 22, 1970 (announced May 26) to the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

in exchange for Terry O'Malley, the rights to Brian Conacher and cash. Previously, the Maple Leafs had attempted to trade Oliver to the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

for goaltender

Jacques Plante Joseph Jacques Omer Plante (; January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played ...

, but an excess of centres for St. Louis prevented the deal. Similarly, the

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

were involved in a possible trade, but Chicago's price of Oliver and

in exchange for

Jim Pappin James Joseph Pappin (September 10, 1939 – June 29, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks, and the Cal ...

was too high for the Maple Leafs, prompting the trade to Minnesota. 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 the

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game () is an exhibition ice hockey tournament that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many of the League's star players playing against each other. The ga ...

five times. After retiring he was hired by former teammate

Lou Nanne Louis Vincent Anthony Nanne (born June 2, 1941) is a Canadian-born American former National Hockey League defenceman and general manager. He played in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars between 1968 and 1978 and then serve ...

as Minnesota's assistant coach. He worked with the club until the

1985–86 NHL season The 1985–86 NHL season was the 69th season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the league's Board of Governors introduce the Presidents' Trophy, which would go to the team with the best overall record in the NHL regular season. The ...

, with 37 games as head coach. He became a scout with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

and later took over as the club's director of pro scouting. On November 23, 2014, he died of a heart attack at the age of 77.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

NHL coaching record

Minor League Baseball

On June 25, 1958, Murray was assigned to play for the

, 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Murray 1937 births 2014 deaths Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey centres Detroit Red Wings players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Edmonton Flyers (WHL) players Hamilton Tiger Cubs players Ice hockey people from Hamilton, Ontario Minnesota North Stars coaches Minnesota North Stars players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Toronto Maple Leafs players Vancouver Canucks scouts Canadian ice hockey coaches Batavia Indians players