OT: Why did we treat Larry Murphy so bad?

[Melrose Munch]

He is a HHOF defenseman. Did well in Detroit and Pittsburgh. Why did we run him out of town?

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[Hurt]

He wasn't good while he was here is my guess.

 

[Bravid Nonahan]

Also, the Leafs were brutal from '96 -'98, so that might have hurt people's perceptions of him

 

[HockeyFanSince86]

lol He played like crap here. Guy gave the puck away so much I could of swore he played for the other team most nights.

 

[Leafidelity]

Giveaways and slow as molasses. Nobody expected him to do as well as he did when he left. He looked finished in Toronto.

 

[StarBurns RIP]

He was misused greatly by a bad NHL coach (Mike Murphy) who didn't like him personally apparently. It's tough to expect fans to be so sophisticated to recognize why a player is playing poorly. They can just recognize a player playing poorly.

However, this is a perfect example of why no player should ever be booed. A player may be playing poorly but he may be trying to cover up for inferior team mates or trying to play through a chronic injury or any one of many things.

 

[Squiffy]

He was the highest paid, by far, player on a miserable team, he became the whipping boy as a symbol of the fans frustration with the team in general. Pretty much the same as McCabe. And Schneider. He wasn't terrible here, surely didn't play as well as he could, lots of turnovers, sure, but he was far from bad. Also not the rough and tumble type of D-man we like here in T.O. in general, that didn't help him.


When people drone on about the Kessel trade being real bad, and then eventually someone chimes in saying no no, the Rask trade is the worst trade ever, smile to yourself and remember that neither is anywhere close to as bad as the Murphy trade.

 

[Damisoph]

The downfall of the Leafs under Pat Burns combined with Murphy looking like he was skating in sand.

 

[DeathToAllButMetal]

Murphy was awful here, just brutal. Loads of Gill-like giveaways, and so slow he could never get into position after a mistake. He deserved the boos. Though the Leafs shouldn't have panic-dealt him. Whoa, what an awful trade. Detroit made out very nicely there.

 

[Squiffy]

Murphy was awful here, just brutal. Loads of Gill-like giveaways, and so slow he could never get into position after a mistake. He deserved the boos. Though the Leafs shouldn't have panic-dealt him. Whoa, what an awful trade. Detroit made out very nicely there.

Nicely? We paid them to take him away and win a couple cups with him anchoring their PP and D. Nicely is putting it mild.

 

[HockeyFanSince86]

He was dealt more so for his own safety, rather than our benefit.

 

[hotpaws]

Murphy needed a partner who could cover up his weaknesses. Once Kenny Jonnson was traded all his flaws were exposed and the fans ripped him to pieces .

He was never a good all around D and was traded from team to team . He could make a good first pass and he could play on the pp but he couldn't skate and he was weak in his own zone .

It wasn't a bad deal moving him, he wasn't going to do squat here anyways .

 

[Squiffy]

Wasn't a bad deal? It's at least top ten in Leaf history for bad trades. He needed to get out of here, sure, but it was an awful trade.

 

[ForSpareParts*]

His mistakes seemed so glaring. The team suffered and then he used to top it all off. High paid, slow, and underachieving.

I don't care for the above Gill like comparison unless you're talking about Todd.

 

[Squiffy]

His mistakes seemed so glaring. The team suffered and then you used to top it all off. High paid, slow, and underachieving.

I don't care for the above Gill like comparison unless you're talking about Todd.

Bite your tongue, Todd Gill was a rock for us. He means Hal Gill.

 

[Brewsky]

He was the highest paid, by far, player on a miserable team, he became the whipping boy as a symbol of the fans frustration with the team in general. Pretty much the same as McCabe. And Schneider. He wasn't terrible here, surely didn't play as well as he could, lots of turnovers, sure, but he was far from bad. Also not the rough and tumble type of D-man we like here in T.O. in general, that didn't help him.


When people drone on about the Kessel trade being real bad, and then eventually someone chimes in saying no no, the Rask trade is the worst trade ever, smile to yourself and remember that neither is anywhere close to as bad as the Murphy trade.

Didn't we only give up Mironov and some 2nd round bust for Murphy? I don't see how it could be worse than the Rask deal seeing as we actually gave up something valuable for scrubs.

 

[hotpaws]

Wasn't a bad deal? It's at least top ten in Leaf history for bad trades. He needed to get out of here, sure, but it was an awful trade.

The guy was 35 and playing like crap when we dealt him , what did you expect in return .We traded Mironov and a 2nd for him , so it's not like we gave up much to aquire the guy in the first place.

Murphy was a good piece when he had others to cover for him . When he had to be the dominant defensive partner he struggled . There's a good reason why he was traded 5 times even though he always produced on O.

 

[ForSpareParts*]

I did not read...


...his username

 

[Squiffy]

What did I expect back? I dunno, a fourth, a 9th, maybe just give him away for free?

We paid one third of the rest of a first ballot HoF's salary for Detroit to take him and win two Cups with him playing heavy minutes. He played 4 more years. We got nothing back.

I can not believe I'm on this board having people tell me that's anything but a ranking all time terrible trade.

Edit: You guys are seriously selling Mironov short too.

 

[Derek Synak]

What did I expect back? I dunno, a fourth, a 9th, maybe just give him away for free?

We paid one third of the rest of a first ballot HoF's salary for Detroit to take him and win two Cups with him playing heavy minutes. He played 4 more years. We got nothing back.

I can not believe I'm on this board having people tell me that's anything but a ranking all time terrible trade.

Edit: You guys are seriously selling Mironov short too.

He had a bomb of a one timer....I really liked him.

 

[67Cup]

It was not really about Murphy. It was about the fans. Murphy is only the most notable in a series of scapegoats, mostly on defense, who were targetted by the fans over the eyears. He did not play up to expectations here and slotted into that scapegoat role. Maybe it was the coach misusing him. Maybe the booing got to him in the end and the problems just snowballed. Maybe it just wasn't a good fit. But he wasn't anything like as bad as a lot of fans would say,obviously including some posters in this thread.

I would say it was just years of frustration seeking an outlet. Most fanbases, maybe all fanbases, have scapegoats. The size of the fanbase here and the number of years of failure just makes a universal phenomenon worse here. There will be a scapegoat indefinitely. Right now it's Komi. The year before, it almost became Schenn. If Komi is traded, it will be someone else. Yep, it's mainly about the fans.

 

[Drew311]

It's amazing how fast Leafs fans have driven players out of town. Murphy put up 61 points in 94-95 and McCabe put up 68 points in 05-06. Granted, they weren't run out of town during these career years, but they were shortly after.

I've always found Toronto and Montreal as the worst "what have you done for me lately" markets in the NHL. Historically our fans have been so quick to point out the deficiencies in a players game without considering their primary roles on the team.

Todd Gill is another example, with the classic "Giveaway Gill" nickname. The guy was an absolute warrior on the ice every night but was only remembered for his occasional defensive lapses. The guy also put of some nice offensive numbers to go along with his shot blocking and fighting abilities, but all we remember is a bunch of giveaways.

 

[ForSpareParts*]

It's amazing how fast Leafs fans have driven players out of town. Murphy put up 61 points in 94-95 and McCabe put up 68 points in 05-06. Granted, they weren't run out of town during these career years, but they were shortly after.

I've always found Toronto and Montreal as the worst "what have you done for me lately" markets in the NHL. Historically our fans have been so quick to point out the deficiencies in a players game without considering their primary roles on the team.

Todd Gill is another example, with the classic "Giveaway Gill" nickname. The guy was an absolute warrior on the ice every night but was only remembered for his occasional defensive lapses. The guy also put of some nice offensive numbers to go along with his shot blocking and fighting abilities, but all we remember is a bunch of giveaways.

nope only good things. i only saw the odd giveaway from todd.

hal
todd

both fine by me.

 

[Squiffy]

It was not really about Murphy. It was about the fans. Murphy is only the most notable in a series of scapegoats, mostly on defense, who were targetted by the fans over the eyears. He did not play up to expectations here and slotted into that scapegoat role. Maybe it was the coach misusing him. Maybe the booing got to him in the end and the problems just snowballed. Maybe it just wasn't a good fit. But he wasn't anything like as bad as a lot of fans would say,obviously including some posters in this thread.

I would say it was justly years of frustration seeking an outlet. Most fanbases, maybe all fanbases, have scapegoats. The size of the fanbase here and the number of years of failure just makes a universal phenomenon worse here. There will be a scapegoat indefinitely. Right now it's Komi. The year before, it almost became Schenn. If Komi is traded, it will be someone else. Yep, it's mainly about the fans.

Yup.

It's amazing how fast Leafs fans have driven players out of town. Murphy put up 61 points in 94-95 and McCabe put up 68 points in 05-06. Granted, they weren't run out of town during these career years, but they were shortly after.

I've always found Toronto and Montreal as the worst "what have you done for me lately" markets in the NHL. Historically our fans have been so quick to point out the deficiencies in a players game without considering their primary roles on the team.

Todd Gill is another example, with the classic "Giveaway Gill" nickname. The guy was an absolute warrior on the ice every night but was only remembered for his occasional defensive lapses. The guy also put of some nice offensive numbers to go along with his shot blocking and fighting abilities, but all we remember is a bunch of giveaways.

Damn near drove Iafrate out too, he was our target one year in the late 80's.

 

[Squiffy]

Didn't we only give up Mironov and some 2nd round bust for Murphy? I don't see how it could be worse than the Rask deal seeing as we actually gave up something valuable for scrubs.

Bad trade too, not saying otherwise, although at least we got SOMETHING back, even if it didn't pan out. Heck, history may bare out it being worse, that book's not written yet. The Murphy trade book is closed already though. As soon as Rask plays a vital role in multiple Cups for Boston then I'll entertain that trade as being worse.