Larry Murphy
Hall of Fame defenceman, four-time Stanley Cup champion, and Detroit Red Wings analyst.
Lawrence Thomas Murphy, born March 8, 1961, is a Canadian former NHL defenceman whose career spanned more than two decades. He played for the Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings. Known for his durability and offensive skill, Murphy set a rookie record for defencemen with 76 points in 1981. After a 1983 trade to Washington, he posted four 50-point seasons.
Moved at the 1989 deadline to Minnesota, he was later dealt to Pittsburgh in late 1990, where he became a reliable presence. In the 1991 playoffs, he recorded 23 points (18 assists) as the Penguins won their first Stanley Cup; the following year, he added 16 assists in another Cup victory. A series of trades brought him to Detroit in 1997, where he helped the Red Wings win back-to-back Cups in 1997 and 1998. Murphy retired in 2001 with 1,615 games played—the most by a defenceman at that time—and 1,216 points, among the highest for his position.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Today, he works as a studio analyst and fill-in color commentator for Red Wings away games on Bally Sports Detroit, and coaches the Minnesota 3ICE team.
Quick Facts
- Hall of Fame
- 2004
- Born
- 8 March 1961
- Birthplace
- Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
- Position
- Defence
- Shoots
- Right
- Draft
- 4th overall
- Drafted by
- Los Angeles Kings
Facts from the source article.
Background
As a youth, Murphy played in the 1974 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Shopsy's minor ice hockey team. Murphy played junior hockey with the Peterborough Petes, where he won a Memorial Cup in 1979. The Petes also reached the championship game the following year, but lost in overtime. He represented Canada at the 1980 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships prior to being 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; it is still the record for a rookie playing an entire season as a defenseman. Murphy finished second in the Calder Memorial Trophy voting for his rookie play to Peter Stastny. On October 18, 1983, the Kings traded him to the Washington Capitals for defenceman Brian Engblom and winger Ken Houston early in the 1983–84 season.
Each team were equally struggling at the time of the trade, while Murphy bristled at the treatment he received in salary arbitration and Kings coach Don Perry and team GM George Maguire equally stating their unhappiness with Murphy's attitude and play that led to a trade with Washington, who had desired him for two years. The trade ultimately did not work out in the Kings' favor long-term because of Murphy's prolonged success in the league. Murphy set a franchise record in game one of the first round matchup against the New York Islanders with the fastest two goals scored by a Capitals player in a playoff game, doing so sixteen seconds apart from each other in game one.
Mike Gartner scored less than two minutes later to give the Capitals three goals in the span of 2:09 that also set the record for fastest three goals in franchise history and both records still stand. Murphy had his peak in goals in the 1986–87 campaign with 23 goals to go along with 58 assists; he finished third place in voting for the Norris Trophy. Later that year, 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 two (which Murphy later called the best game he ever played in) of the Final against the Soviet Union.
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