Larry Murphy (ice hockey)

Larry Murphy
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2004

Murphy (left) with Paul Coffey at a pregame ceremony in Pittsburgh, April 2010
Born (1961-03-08) March 8, 1961
Scarborough, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Right
Played for Los Angeles Kings
Washington Capitals
Minnesota North Stars
Pittsburgh Penguins
Toronto Maple Leafs
Detroit Red Wings
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 4th overall, 1980
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 19802001

Lawrence Thomas Murphy (born March 8, 1961) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He currently serves as a studio analyst on NHL Network.

Playing career

After a stellar junior career with the Peterborough Petes and representing Canada at the 1980 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Murphy was drafted 4th overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. In the 1980–81 NHL season, he set National Hockey League records for most assists and points by a rookie defenceman, with 60 and 76 respectively. He was eventually traded to the Washington Capitals for defencemen Brian Engblom and Ken Houston early in the 1983-84 season, which did not work out in the Kings favor long-term because of Murphy's prolonged success in the league.

In his 21-season career (1980–2001), Murphy would eventually play for six different NHL teams. In addition to the Kings and Capitals, he also suited up for the Minnesota North Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings.

In 1995, after being named to the second-team All-Stars Murphy was traded to his hometown Leafs from the Penguins for Dmitri Mironov and a second round pick. Leafs fans booed Murphy, the highest paid player on the Leafs, mercilessly as a scapegoat for the lack of success the team was having. He was traded to Detroit for future considerations, and was an integral part of their two consecutive Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998. In the 1997–98 NHL Playoffs, he tied Paul Coffey's record for most shorthanded goals scored by a defenceman in the playoffs with 2.

When Murphy retired after the 2000–01 NHL season, his 1615 regular season games played stood as a record for the most career games by a defenceman; a mark previously held by Tim Horton. In 2003–04, Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils surpassed this mark, finishing the season with 1635 games played.

He was on four Stanley Cup winning teams during the decade of the 1990s, the only NHL player to accomplish this feat. He was a part of the only 2 NHL teams to win back-to-back titles during the decade, the Penguins in 1991 and 1992 and the Red Wings in 1997 and 1998.

In addition to his NHL championships, Murphy also won a Memorial Cup with the Peterborough Petes in 1979. The Petes also reached the championship game the following year, but lost in overtime.

In 1987, Murphy was a key member of Canada's championship team in the Canada Cup. His six assists tied teammate Ray Bourque for tops in the tournament among defencemen, which included Mario Lemieux's overtime goal in game 2 of the Final against the Soviet Union. He then scored a goal and two assists in the decisive third game, and was also used as a decoy by Wayne Gretzky on Lemieux's tournament winner.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004. Finishing his career with 1216 points, Murphy is currently the fifth highest scoring defenceman in NHL history, behind Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis and Phil Housley.[1]

One of Murphy's most notable successes was the "Murphy Dump". During his stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Murphy would often dump the puck down the ice by lifting it high over the opposing team so that it eventually stops before the opposing goal line. This would not only clear the zone safely, but would not result in an icing call. The "Murphy Dump" was officially coined by Penguins broadcaster Mike Lange.

Broadcasting

Murphy was an alternate color analyst for the Detroit Red Wings on Fox Sports Detroit. He only did color commentator duties for Red Wings west coast road trips in place of Mickey Redmond, from 2003-2006 Murphy shared this duty with former teammate Pat Verbeek where they would alternate road trips. However following the 2005–06 NHL season, Verbeek left the job as broadcaster to become a scout for the Red Wings and Murphy took over full-time on west coast road trips. In addition in 2006, Murphy started contributing as a studio analyst on pregames, post games and intermissions in which he does not broadcast. In the 2007-08 season, Murphy began serving as a "Between the Benches" reporter for Fox Sports Detroit when Mickey Redmond was broadcasting, and subbed for Redmond when he had surgery to remove a tumor on his lung. He also made occasional appearances on the NHL Network's nightly hockey highlight show, NHL on the Fly. In March, 2013, it was announced by Fox Sports Detroit that he had been fired, after being told they weren't satisfied with ratings.[2]

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1977–78 Seneca Nationals MetJHL 36 10 20 30 25
1978–79 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 66 6 21 27 82 19 1 9 10 42
1978–79 Peterborough Petes M-Cup 5 0 2 2 8
1979–80 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 68 21 68 89 88 14 4 13 17 20
1979–80 Peterborough Petes M-Cup 5 1 6 7 4
1980–81 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 16 60 76 79 4 3 0 3 2
1981–82 Los Angeles Kings NHL 79 22 44 66 95 10 2 8 10 12
1982–83 Los Angeles Kings NHL 77 14 48 62 81
1983–84 Los Angeles Kings NHL 6 0 3 3 0
1983–84 Washington Capitals NHL 72 13 33 46 50 8 0 3 3 6
1984–85 Washington Capitals NHL 79 13 42 55 51 5 2 3 5 0
1985–86 Washington Capitals NHL 78 21 44 65 50 9 1 5 6 6
1986–87 Washington Capitals NHL 80 23 58 81 39 7 2 2 4 6
1987–88 Washington Capitals NHL 79 8 53 61 72 13 4 4 8 33
1988–89 Washington Capitals NHL 65 7 29 36 70
1988–89 Minnesota North Stars NHL 13 4 6 10 12 5 0 2 2 8
1989–90 Minnesota North Stars NHL 77 10 58 68 44 7 1 2 3 31
1990–91 Minnesota North Stars NHL 31 4 11 15 38
1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 44 5 23 28 30 23 5 18 23 44
1991–92 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 77 21 56 77 48 21 6 10 16 19
1992–93 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 83 22 63 85 73 12 2 11 13 10
1993–94 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 84 17 56 73 44 6 0 5 5 0
1994–95 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 48 13 25 38 18 12 2 13 15 0
1995–96 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 12 49 61 34 6 0 2 2 4
1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 7 32 39 20
1996–97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 12 2 4 6 0 20 2 9 11 8
1997–98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 82 11 41 52 37 22 3 12 15 2
1998–99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 10 42 52 42 10 0 2 2 8
1999–2000 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 10 30 40 45 9 2 3 5 2
2000–01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 57 2 19 21 12 6 0 1 1 0
NHL totals 1615 287 929 1216 1084 215 37 115 152 201

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1980 Canada WJC 5 1 0 1 4
1985 Canada WC 8 2 6 8 4
1987 Canada WC 6 0 3 3 4
1987 Canada CC 8 1 6 7 4
1991 Canada CC 8 0 1 1 0
2000 Canada WC 3 0 0 0 0
Junior totals 5 1 0 1 4
Senior totals 33 3 16 19 12

See also

References

External links

Preceded by
Jay Wells
Los Angeles Kings first round draft pick
1980
Succeeded by
Jim Fox
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