Coach honors his daughter's friend through Stanley Cup visit to Milton

MILTON – On the 477th day since they lost their daughter Cassidy, Linda and David Murray launched a foundation in her name with the help of friends and one of the most famous trophies in all of sports.

Vegas Golden Knights Coach Bruce Cassidy brought the Stanley Cup, symbol of hockey supremacy, to the Glover School on Thursday for the inaugural event of the Cassidy Murray Foundation, which is aimed at helping families cope with tragic loss.

Cassidy took the stage in the pose reserved for the victors, holding the 35-pound trophy above his head.

Linda Murray and the coach's wife, Julie, had the idea for the celebration, with volunteers and town officials putting it all together in a couple of weeks.

"I just brought the cup," Bruce Cassidy said.

Hockey fans lined up the length of the parking lot in front of the school for a chance to have their picture taken with the 130-year-old trophy and make a donation to the foundation, many wearing hockey sweaters and T-shirts.

Brian Emerson, of Milton, showed up two hours before the event to grab one of the first places in line.

"My daughter Morgan is a hockey player and she's always wanted to see the cup," he said.

Paul Frederickson, who moved to Milton with his family three months ago, wore a vintage hockey T-shirt, supporting his hometown Minnesota North Stars against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals. (The North Stars lost, and moved to Dallas two years later.)

Winning the Stanley Cup is "the dream of every kid who grew up in Minnesota and I'm sure here," Frederickson said.

Cassidy Murray was 13 when she was killed in a boating accident in Aruba in 2022. She was struck by the boat that was towing the water tube she and her father were riding on.

Since then, the Murrays have campaigned to toughen boating safety rules in Aruba, such as requiring spotters on boats. Dave Murray said those efforts are about to get results.

"They plan to make significant reforms in Cassidy's name," he said.

The Murrays wanted to do more, and set up the foundation to support the mental health needs of individuals coping with tragic losses. Dave Murray said this type of counseling is "hard to find and it's expensive."

He said some have already reached out to them for help, even as they were scrambling to have the foundation organized in time for Bruce Cassidy's traditional day with the Stanley Cup.

"We're going to honor Cassidy by helping others," he said.

Coach Cassidy got to know Cassidy Murray through his daughter, Shannon. Classmates at Buckingham Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge. Shannon Cassidy got Cassidy Murray, who didn't know how to skate at the time, to join the hockey team, using the hand-me-down equipment of her brother, Adam Murray.

Bruce Cassidy attended one of the team's practices, and recalled Cassidy Murray "was the only one with a red helmet, Everyone else had a blue one."

Shannon Cassidy recalled her friend's smile.

"She had the biggest smile," Shannon said.

Dave Murray marveled at the size of the crowd that showed up for the event, "We've seen support since Day 1, but nothing like this."

Linda Murray said they have grieved every hour of each of those 477 days.

"We are able to find some degree of strength to stand and honor our daughter's legacy because of a wonderful grief therapist who came into our lives in those first dark days," she said in a statement.

The first task of the foundation will be determine the best way they can help those grieving like the Murrays. Dave Murray feels their efforts already have an important supporter.

"Our daughter, Cassidy, is definitely smiling down on us today," he said.

For more information or to make a donation to the foundation, go to cassidymurrayfoundation.org.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Stanley Cup bring joy to Milton as grief of 13-year-old's death looms