Murray Baron

Murray Roy Baron (born June 1, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Phoenix Coyotes, and Vancouver Canucks.

Playing career Philadelphia Flyers Baron was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the eighth round, 167th overall, of the 1986 NHL entry draft. He then attended the University of North Dakota for three years. Baron got his feet wet in the NHL playing 16 games with the Flyers in 1989–90 before playing 67 games the following year and establishing himself as an everyday NHLer. Shortly before the start of the 1991–92 season, Baron was part of a deal that saw him and long-time Flyer Ron Sutter traded to the St. Louis Blues for Rod Brind'Amour and Dan Quinn.

St. Louis Blues For the next five seasons in St. Louis, Baron built a reputation as a bruising physical defenceman. Early on in the 1996–97 season, Baron was part of a blockbuster trade that sent him and Shayne Corson, along with a 5th-round draft pick to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Pierre Turgeon, Craig Conroy and Rory Fitzpatrick.

Montreal Canadiens Baron's time with the Canadiens proved to be short-lived, and after just 60 games, he was on the move again, this time off to the Phoenix Coyotes in a deal for fellow defenseman Dave Manson.

Phoenix Coyotes Baron would play just 63-games with the Coyotes over the next two seasons before he was changing addresses again, signing on with the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent.

Vancouver Canucks In Vancouver, Baron finally found some stability setting in on the Canucks blue line and spending the next five seasons with the team and serving as their alternate captain. Following the 2002–03 season, Baron left Vancouver as a free agent.

Return to St. Louis With time running out in his career, the 37-year-old blue liner signed a one-year deal to return to the St. Louis Blues. Baron scored one goal and added five assists in 80 games and retired from the NHL following the season.

Coaching career In 2011, Baron began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League's Kamloops Storm. He also coaches for Kamloops Minor Hockey.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1984–85 Vernon Lakers BCHL 37 5 9 14 93 — — — — — 1985–86 Vernon Lakers BCHL 46 12 32 44 179 — — — — — 1986–87 North Dakota Fighting Sioux WCHA 41 4 10 14 62 — — — — — 1987–88 North Dakota Fighting Sioux WCHA 41 1 10 11 95 — — — — — 1988–89 North Dakota Fighting Sioux WCHA 40 2 6 8 92 — — — — — 1988–89 Hershey Bears AHL 9 0 3 3 8 — — — — — 1989–90 Hershey Bears AHL 50 0 10 10 101 — — — — — 1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 16 2 2 4 12 — — — — — 1990–91 Hershey Bears AHL 6 2 3 5 0 — — — — — 1990–91 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 67 8 8 16 74 — — — — — 1991–92 St. Louis Blues NHL 67 3 8 11 94 2 0 0 0 2 1992–93 St. Louis Blues NHL 53 2 2 4 59 11 0 0 0 12 1993–94 St. Louis Blues NHL 77 5 9 14 123 4 0 0 0 10 1994–95 St. Louis Blues NHL 39 0 5 5 93 7 1 1 2 2 1995–96 St. Louis Blues NHL 82 2 9 11 190 13 1 0 1 20 1996–97 St. Louis Blues NHL 11 0 2 2 1 — — — — — 1996–97 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 1 5 6 107 — — — — — 1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 8 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 45 1 5 6 106 6 0 2 2 6 1998–99 Vancouver Canucks NHL 81 2 6 8 115 — — — — — 1999–00 Vancouver Canucks NHL 81 2 10 12 67 — — — — — 2000–01 Vancouver Canucks NHL 82 3 8 11 63 4 0 0 0 0 2001–02 Vancouver Canucks NHL 61 1 6 7 68 6 0 1 1 10 2002–03 Vancouver Canucks NHL 78 2 4 6 62 14 0 4 4 10 2003–04 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 1 5 6 61 5 0 0 0 6 NHL totals 988 35 94 129 1309 73 2 8 10 78