Larry Murphy

Lawrence Thomas Murphy (born March 8, 1961 in Scarborough, Ontario) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was a defenseman.

Playing career

Larry Murphy was drafted 4th overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He was the first selection that year of the Los Angeles Kings. In the 1980-81 NHL season, he set National Hockey League records for most assists and points by a rookie defenseman, with 60 and 76 respectively. These records still stand as of the end of the 2003-04 NHL season.

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

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 defenseman. In 2003-04, Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils surpassed this mark, finishing the season with 1635 games played. Coincidentally, Murphy and Stevens were teammates on the Capitals between 1983 and 1989.

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 championship, 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.

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

Career Statistics

Regular Season Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM 1980-81 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 16 60 76 79 1981-82 Los Angeles Kings NHL 79 22 44 66 95 1982-83 Los Angeles Kings NHL 77 14 48 62 81 1983-84 Los Angeles/Washington NHL 78 13 36 49 50 1984-85 Washington Capitals NHL 79 13 42 55 51 1985-86 Washington Capitals NHL 78 21 44 65 50 1986-87 Washington Capitals NHL 80 23 58 81 39 1987-88 Washington Capitals NHL 79 8 53 61 72 1988-89 Washington/Minnesota NHL 78 11 35 46 82 1989-90 Minnesota North Stars NHL 77 10 58 68 44 1990-91 Minnesota/Pittsburgh NHL 75 9 34 43 68 1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 77 21 56 77 48 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 83 22 63 85 73 1993-94 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 84 17 56 73 44 1995 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 48 13 25 38 18 1995-96 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 12 49 61 34 1996-97 Toronto/Detroit NHL 81 9 36 45 20 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 82 11 41 52 37 1998-99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 10 42 52 42 1999-00 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 10 30 40 45 2000-01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 57 2 19 21 12

NHL Totals 1615 287 929 1216 1084

Teams

Peterborough Petes, 1978-80 (Ontario Hockey League)
Los Angeles Kings, 1980-83
Washington Capitals, 1983-89
Minnesota North Stars, 1989-90
Pittsburgh Penguins, 1990-95
Toronto Maple Leafs, 1995-97
Detroit Red Wings, 1997-2001

Honors

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)

Retirement

Murphy is currently a part-time color analyst for the Detroit Red Wings on Fox Sports Net Detroit. Larry and Pat Verbeek share color commentator duties for Red Wings road games in place of Mickey Redmond.

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Larry Murphy

Playing career

Career Statistics

Teams

Honors

Retirement

See also