Larry Murphy (ice hockey)

Larry Murphy
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2004
Born	March 8, 1961 Scarborough, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position	Defense
Played for	Los Angeles Kings Washington Capitals Minnesota North Stars Pittsburgh Penguins Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings
NHL draft	4th overall, 1980 Los Angeles Kings
Playing career	1980–2001

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

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.

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; a mark previously held by defenseman 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 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						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

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)

Broadcasting

Larry 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.

See also

• List of retired NHL players
• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL seasons
• List of NHL players with 1000 points