Larry Murphy (ice hockey) Information & Larry Murphy (ice hockey) Links at HealthHaven.com

Born	March 8, 1961 (age 48),; Scarborough, ON, CAN
Height; Weight	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m); 210 lb (95 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Pro clubs	Los Angeles Kings; Washington Capitals; Minnesota North Stars; Pittsburgh Penguins; Toronto Maple Leafs; Detroit Red Wings
Ntl. team	Canada
NHL Draft	4th overall, 1980; Los Angeles Kings
Pro career	1980 – 2001
	Hall of Fame, 2004

Lawrence Thomas Murphy (born March 8, 1961, in Scarborough, Ontario) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman.

[edit] Playing career

After a stellar junior career with the Peterborough Petes and representing Canada at the 1980 Winter Olympics, 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 due to 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, the symbol of Canadian major junior hockey supremacy, 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 defensemen, 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 and having the puck drop 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 color commentator Mike Lange.

[edit] Broadcasting

Murphy is currently an alternate color analyst for the Detroit Red Wings on FSN Detroit. He only does 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 contributes 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 FSN Detroit when Mickey Redmond was broadcasting, and subbed for Redmond when he had surgery to remove a tumor on his lung. He also makes occasional appearances on the NHL Network's nightly hockey highlight show, NHL On the Fly: Final.

[edit] Awards and achievements

1980, OHL First All-Star Team
1987, NHL Second All-Star Team
1993, NHL Second All-Star Team
1994, Played in NHL All-Star Game (Eastern Conference)
1995, NHL Second All-Star Team
1996, Played in NHL All-Star Game (Western Conference)
1999, Played in NHL All-Star Game (Western Conference)

[edit] Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1978–79	Peterborough Petes	OMJHL	66	6	21	27	82	19	1	9	10	42
1979–80	Peterborough Petes	OMJHL	68	21	68	89	88	14	4	13	17	20
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
1999–00	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
OMJHL totals			134	27	89	116	170	33	5	22	27	62
NHL totals			1615	287	929	1216	1084	215	37	115	152	201

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ [1] Murphy at Legends of Hockey/HHOF.

[edit] External links

[0] [1] Murphy at Legends of Hockey/HHOF.

[1]

Contents