The club also announced that Bryan Murray will remain in an important role with the Senators and has been appointed Senior Hockey Advisor. Murray is the longest serving general manager in franchise history and has been serving in that role since his appointment in June of 2007. “Being from the area and to have the opportunity to be a head coach and general manager of the Senators organization has been nothing short of a dream for me,” said Murray. “I know this is the right decision for me and my family. I am looking forward to my new role and I am grateful to the fans, the entire Senators organization and Mr. Melnyk for allowing me continue to be part of such a great hockey family.”

“Bryan Murray is a legend of the game and I know his portrait will one day find itself in the Hockey Hall of Fame,” added Melnyk. “Words cannot express my thanks to Bryan and the tremendous support of his wife Geri and their two daughters Heide and Brittany. Bryan’s leadership and grace on and off the ice has always been exceptional and I am very happy that Bryan will continue to be a senior member of our hockey operations.”

Pierre Dorion’s career to date with the Senators and in the NHL

An Ottawa native, Dorion spent the last two-plus seasons as assistant general manager with a focus on NHL contracts, player personnel and leading the club’s professional and amateur scouting activities.

Before taking on the assistant general manager role in January of 2014, Dorion spent four-plus seasons as director of player personnel and also served two seasons as the Senators’ chief amateur scout.

Dorion originally joined the Senators in July of 2007 after spending the previous two seasons as an amateur scout for the New York Rangers and the prior 11 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, where he served as an amateur scouting coordinator and as chief scout.

Bryan Murray’s career to date the Senators and in the NHL

Murray was hired as the fifth head coach in Senators history on June 8, 2004. In two-plus seasons at the helm, he compiled a 107-55-20 record. In 2007, he led Ottawa to its only appearance in a Stanley Cup Final series, before losing in five games to the Anaheim Ducks. Murray returned to the head-coaching role in Ottawa on Feb. 27, 2008, after relieving John Paddock, for the final 18 games of the 2007-08 regular season.

The 2015-16 season was Murray’s 22nd as a general manager, after serving four years with the Detroit Red Wings, from 1990 to 1994, six-plus seasons with the Florida Panthers, from 1994 to 2000, and two seasons with Anaheim, from 2002 to 2004. His nine-year tenure in Ottawa makes him the franchise’s longest-serving general manager.

Murray began his NHL coaching career with the Washington Capitals on Nov. 11, 1981. He won the Jack Adams Award in 1983-84 as the NHL’s coach of the year.

In 18 years of coaching in the NHL, which also included seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers, Murray ranks 14th in the league in all-time games coached (1,239) and is 11th in wins (620). He coached his 1,000th NHL game with Anaheim on Nov. 28, 2001, and earned his 600th victory on Feb. 20, 2007, in a 4-3 Senators win over Edmonton.