Ducks GM Bob Murray on leave amid 'investigation related to professional conduct'

Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The Anaheim Ducks placed executive vice president and general manager Bob Murray on administrative leave Tuesday, pending an "ongoing investigation related to professional conduct."

The 66-year-old Murray has been with the Ducks organization since 2005.

"We recently became aware of accusations of improper professional conduct against Bob Murray," the team said in a statement. "After internal review, we enlisted Sheppard Mullin to perform an independent investigation. Upon recommendation from their initial findings, we have decided to place Bob on administrative leave pending final results.

"In the interim, vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager Jeff Solomon will assume the role of interim general manager. We will have no further comment until the investigation is complete."

Murray was the Ducks' assistant general manager when the club won the Stanley Cup in 2007. He replaced Brian Burke as Anaheim's general manager in November 2008, later winning NHL General Manager of the Year honors for the 2013-14 season.

This marks the second internal investigation into the behavior of an NHL front office this season.

Last month, the Chicago Blackhawks accepted the resignations of general manager Stan Bowman and senior director of hockey administration Al MacIsaac after an independent investigation into how the franchise handled sexual assault allegations against former video coach Brad Aldrich during its Stanley Cup run in 2010.

Three-time Stanley Cup winner Joel Quenneville, who was the Blackhawks' coach at the time of the accusations, also resigned as head coach of the Florida Panthers after meeting with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman about his role in the scandal.