Former Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray passes away at age 74

Bryan Murray passes away at age of 74 Former GM of the Ottawa Senators Bryan Murray passed away Saturday at the age of 74. CTV's Matt Skube reports.

Former general manager of the Ottawa Senators Bryan Murray has passed away at the age of 74.

In a statement, the Senators confirmed that Murray died Saturday morning following a battle with colon cancer.

“Bryan was one of the greatest men that the game of hockey has ever known, and also a great father, mentor and teacher,” said Senators owner Eugene Melnyk in a statement issued by the team. “We extend our sincere condolences to his wife, Geri, daughters, Heide and Brittany and the entire Murray family on their loss.”

Murray joined the Senators in June 2004 and spent three years as the team's head coach before being named general manager on June 18, 2007. He served in that role until 2016. He coached for 18 seasons and 1,239 games in the National Hockey League and the 2016-17 season was his 35th consecutive year working in the league.

The Shawville native was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in 2014.