#100 - Larry Murphy

Larry Murphy (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #100)

Adjusted Stats

1980-1981   LA          82 GP   13 goals   49 assists   62 points     0.76 PPG
1981-1982   LA          81 GP   17 goals   35 assists   52 points     0.64 PPG
1982-1983   LA          79 GP   11 goals   39 assists   51 points     0.64 PPG
1983-1984   LA/Wsh  80 GP   10 goals   29 assists   39 points     0.49 PPG
1984-1985   Wsh        81 GP   11 goals   34 assists   45 points     0.55 PPG
1985-1986   Wsh        80 GP   17 goals   35 assists   52 points     0.65 PPG
1986-1987   Wsh        82 GP   20 goals   50 assists   70 points     0.85 PPG
1987-1988   Wsh        81 GP   7 goals     45 assists   52 points     0.64 PPG
1988-1989   Wsh/Min 80 GP   9 goals     29 assists   39 points     0.48 PPG
1989-1990   Min         79 GP   9 goals     50 assists   58 points     0.74 PPG
1990-1991   Min/Pit*  77 GP   8 goals     31 assists   39 points     0.51 PPG
1991-1992   Pit*         79 GP   19 goals   51 assists   70 points     0.88 PPG
1992-1993   Pit           81 GP   18 goals   52 assists   70 points     0.87 PPG
1993-1994   Pit           82 GP   16 goals   52 assists   68 points     0.82 PPG
1994-1995   Pit           82 GP   23 goals   44 assists   67 points     0.82 PPG
1995-1996   Tor          82 GP   12 goals   48 assists   60 points     0.73 PPG
1996-1997   Tor/Det*  81 GP   9 goals     38 assists   47 points    0.59 PPG
1997-1998   Det*        82 GP   13 goals   48 assists   61 points     0.74 PPG
1998-1999   Det          80 GP   12 goals   49 assists   61 points     0.76 PPG
1999-2000   Det          81 GP   11 goals   34 assists   45 points     0.55 PPG
2000-2001   Det          57 GP   2 goals     21 assists   23 points     0.41 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1980-1981   LA           4 GP     2 goals      0 assists    2 points      0.53 PPG
1981-1982   LA           10 GP   2 goals      6 assists    8 points      0.78 PPG
1983-1984   Wsh         8 GP     0 goals      3 assists    3 points      0.33 PPG
1984-1985   Wsh         5 GP     2 goals      2 assists    4 points      0.75 PPG
1985-1986   Wsh         9 GP     1 goal        4 assists    5 points      0.58 PPG
1986-1987   Wsh         7 GP     2 goals      2 assists    4 points      0.51 PPG
1987-1988   Wsh         13 GP   3 goals      3 assists    6 points      0.46 PPG
1988-1989   Min          5 GP     0 goals      2 assists    2 points      0.34 PPG
1989-1990   Min          7 GP     1 goal        2 assists    3 points      0.36 PPG
1990-1991   Pit*          23 GP   4 goals      15 assists  20 points    0.85 PPG
1991-1992   Pit*          21 GP   5 goals      9 assists    14 points    0.67 PPG
1992-1993   Pit            12 GP   2 goals      9 assists    11 points    0.89 PPG
1993-1994   Pit            6 GP     0 goals      5 assists    5 points      0.82 PPG
1994-1995   Pit            12 GP   2 goals      11 assists  13 points    1.10 PPG
1995-1996   Tor           6 GP     0 goals      2 assists    2 points      0.32 PPG
1996-1997   Det*         20 GP   2 goals      9 assists    12 points    0.58 PPG
1997-1998   Det*         22 GP   3 goals      13 assists  17 points    0.76 PPG
1998-1999   Det           10 GP   0 goals      2 assists    2 points      0.22 PPG
1999-2000   Det           9 GP     2 goals      4 assists    6 points      0.67 PPG
2000-2001   Det           6 GP     0 goals      1 assist      1 point       0.20 PPG

Career - 1669 GP, 267 goals, 863 assists, 1131 points, 0.68 PPG
Career-Highs - 23 goals (94-95); 52 assists (92-93); 70 points (91-92); 0.88 PPG (91-92)
Avg. (21 seasons) - 79 GP, 13 goals, 41 assists, 54 points, 0.68 PPG
Peak Avg. (91-99) - 81 GP, 15 goals, 48 assists, 63 points, 0.78 PPG, 3 Cups

Playoff Career - 215 GP, 33 goals, 104 assists, 140 points, 0.65 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 5 goals (91-92); 15 assists (90-91); 20 points (90-91); 1.10 PPG (94-95)

Accolades - None
All-Star Teams - 3-time 2nd-team
4-time Stanley Cup Champion

I hate throwing around the terms overrated or underrated, because how does one know who is doing the rating? But in Larry Murphy's case, I think I can safely say that, within the hockey community, he was, and continues to be, quite underrated. Certainly, he's respected as one of the better offensive defencemen of his day. Yet do people recognize that he was an integral veteran presence on four Stanley Cup champions?

Murphy got a bad wrap at times for being somewhat soft defensively, and it's certainly true that he wasn't going to be mistaken for Chris Chelios any time. He was primarily a power-play specialist in the mold of Paul Coffey (and in today's era, Mike Green). His point totals aren't as mind-blowing as those of contemporaries like Bourque, MacInnis and Coffey, but they are still quite decent by any era's standards. And while Murphy's career +/- for his career averages out to a +10 per 82 games played (solid but not spectacular), it shouldn't be forgotten that the first decade of his career was spent on mediocre teams (the North Stars, the Kings, the Capitals).

Oddly enough, Murphy's career really took off when he turned 30. After being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991, his fourth team already in a ten-year career (Murphy detractors could point to this), Murphy brought a much-needed presence to the Penguins' power play, anchoring it from the point. Joining new additions like Ron Francis and young up-and-comers like Jagr and Recchi, the Penguins were a powerhouse behind Mario Lemieux. Murphy's playoff contributions during the Penguins' back-to-back championships shouldn't be forgotten: he put up 20 adjusted points in 23 games in the 1991 run with an amazing +17 to join it, and followed it up in 1992 with 14 points in 21 games.

Basically, after joining Pittsburgh, the only blip on Murphy's resume came during his stint with the Maple Leafs. It's not that Murphy was particularly bad with them, but Leaf fans decided that they didn't like him and booed him mercilessly if ever he turned the puck over. Thankfully, Murphy was rescued and sent packing to Detroit, where he teamed up with Nik Lidstrom and, as he had done with the Penguins, put a talented but underachieving club over the top. I had remembered Murphy's veteran calmness helping the Red Wings win back-to-back championships...what I had forgotten is that he had 29 points in 42 playoff games and both years led the postseason in +/- (not bad for someone who wasn't great defensively).

So after Murphy turned 30, he averaged 60+ points a year in the regular season and then was a key part of four championship runs on two different squads. Not too shabby for a guy who has slipped through the cracks of history. Considering that he played in an era with Bourque and Coffey, it's impressive that Murphy managed to make three second-all star teams in his career as well. And since, as any Canadian knows, Murphy was the decoy recipient of Gretzky's pass to Lemieux in the 1987 Canada Cup, it's obvious that he was a highly-valued defenceman even before winning his championships. Larry Murphy made it in to the hall-of-fame in his first eligible year, and yet when you saw him ranked on the Pyramid, you may have been a little surprised. You shouldn't have been.