OT: Why did we treat Larry Murphy so bad?

[Stephen]

Iafrate, Gill, Murphy, Schneider, McCabe, Kaberle, Phaneuf.....man, this town just hates skilled defensemen. Every single elite skill dman we've ever had has been booed. It's hilarious.

Give them guys who can't skate like Lefebvre and Komisarek, though, and they all pop boners.

Melodramatic and stupid post.

Iafrate, Gill and Murphy were all train wrecks defensively at various points, Murphy was slow, old, immobile and made costly mistakes with the puck, the hatred for McCabe was largely unfounded but based on his high profile mistakes, I don't recall any significant portion of the fan base hating Kaberle, other than wanting a change in direction, and Phaneuf has also been quite inconsistent with his effectiveness since being here.

Lefebvre was a great defensive defenseman here, and he got very little fanfare for his contributions, so I don't know about this boner fest you're referring to, and everyone hates Mike Komisarek, in case you haven't been paying attention.

People seemed to like Ian White, Bryan Berard, Brian Leetch pretty well...

 

[MajorLeaf]

Sorry for bringing back an old thread. I was thinking about Phaneuf and thought about his situation being somewhat similar to what happened with Larry Murphy.

Larry Murphy is a reminder of how Leafs fans can hate on their defenseman just like they have with McCabe and now Phaneuf. It makes one wonder if the Leafs do trade Phaneuf if he will become the next Murphy where he finds success elsewhere.

After last season’s collapse I was one of the people who thought Phaneuf should be moved. However, the Leafs should try to get Phaneuf another top pairing defenseman to see what he could do just like Murphy did in Detroit. Hopefully there will be one more defensive move to upgrade over Polak and Robidas to pair with Phaneuf.

 

[The Apologist]

Sorry for bringing back an old thread. I was thinking about Phaneuf and thought about his situation being somewhat similar to what happened with Larry Murphy.

Larry Murphy is a reminder of how Leafs fans can hate on their defenseman just like they have with McCabe and now Phaneuf. It makes one wonder if the Leafs do trade Phaneuf if he will become the next Murphy where he finds success elsewhere.

After last season’s collapse I was one of the people who thought Phaneuf should be moved. However, the Leafs should try to get Phaneuf another top pairing defenseman to see what he could do just like Murphy did in Detroit. Hopefully there will be one more defensive move to upgrade over Polak and Robidas to pair with Phaneuf.

It's our insatiable need to scapegoat our best players, while loving up the Domis and Belaks of the world.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Murphy was awful with us, I remember it well. Was very excited when he came here, but the system or lack of it really hurt his game. It was too bad be was booed out of Toronto.

 

[crump]

After reading various threads on this board you will have your answer and it had little to do with the actual player.

 

[Cor]

because we aren't that good often, so when we get good players, peoples first instinct is to bash them.

I mean, some people bash Kessel, Phaneuf, have seen people bash Bernier. Heck, people bashed Sundin, Gilmour and Clark at times too (Clark/Gilmour less, due to the whole lack of places like HFBoards), but all received flack. They are all adored now.

Leafs Nation is the home of overreaction. Kessel is a bit husky, yet people call him fat, say he loves cookies, despite him being a pro athlete and one of the fastest skaters in the NHL. There's people who believe Gunnar is a better player than Phaneuf.

Leaf fans have no idea how to treat players until they are gone.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Cause the team was terrible at the time and he was exposed as an aging, slow, fairly soft defenseman when playing as the #1 here.

Great guy to stick into a deep Red Wings team where he could play to his strengths, though, obviously..

(damn necro -- nice to see my opinion is pretty much the same as it was a few years ago )

 

[jughead42*]

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

For the same reason we'll run Phaneuf out of town, for the same reason Kaberle was run out of town before him, and Brian McCabe before him. The list of scapegoats on the Leaf blue line over the years is a long one, once the fans (us) focus on one guy above all others as the culprit for our misery it doesn't matter a lick what he does to help the team. He's done. When we're losing, we need somebody to blame, it's as simple as that. We're not as bright when it comes to hockey as we like to think we are collectively. That's why we ran him out of town. Also, by sacrificing a Leaf blue liner we can ensure a bountiful maple syrup season.

 

[Team Overrated]

I think Phaneuf is an excellent D-man and I liked Murphy as a Leaf hell I even miss Paul Higgins 25 game stint as a Leaf.I won't ever boo!

 

[ITM]

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.

I'd agree with the insight because,Larry Murphy looked awfully good in Detroit after he left.

And I recall instances where Murphy would create a play of genius that while lost in Toronto while he was here, was routinely applauded by fans,media and teammates alike once in Detroit.

 

[JackJ]

Simple. He wasn't the type of defenceman we needed at the time. Offensively he was brilliant but defensively he was terrible. The wings could work around those mistakes, the leafs couldn't.

It's no different than acquiring Mike Green today and expecting him to become a two way defenceman. Isn't going to happen.

 

[WinB4IDIE]

Even a good player can look lousy on a bad team, something the Leafs management never seem to understand.

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

 

[Tak7]

Why did we treat Larry Murphy so bad?

Because being the most passionate fans doesn't mean we are the smartest.

We are up there as one of the worst fan bases in pro sports.

That's why we chased a HoF player out of town.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Because Leaf fans are a bitter, brutal mob when the team is struggling. Which is often.

At least, we used to be. Now we've finally snapped and have become a self-depreciating but crazy group who just can't help but smile all the time!

....wanna know how I got these scars?

 

[Tak7]

Because Leaf fans are a bitter, brutal mob when the team is struggling. Which is often.

At least, we used to be. Now we've finally snapped and have become a self-depreciating but crazy group who just can't help but smile all the time!

....wanna know how I got these scars?

It's still a bitter, brutal mob.

When Ontario boy and self-professed Leaf fan would rather go play for Florida than re-sign here, I think that tells you everything you need to know about this market and it's fans.

 

[ThirdRowGreens]

Simple. He wasn't the type of defenceman we needed at the time. Offensively he was brilliant but defensively he was terrible. The wings could work around those mistakes, the leafs couldn't.

It seems so obvious now, all we had to do was go out and acquire Nick Lidstrom and Murphy would have looked great on the Leafs.

 

[Commander Clueless]

It's still a bitter, brutal mob.

When Ontario boy and self-professed Leaf fan would rather go play for Florida than re-sign here, I think that tells you everything you need to know about this market and it's fans.

Just snap already and join the crazy side. It's more fun.

 

[Disgruntled Observer*]

It was a shame what happened to Murphy.

This was pre-cap nhl, which meant that it was just billionaire leaf ownership that took a hit.
So the team only made $98 million that year, as opposed to $102 million. Boo hoo.

But now, in a capped league, leaf fans should boo the **** out of every player that DARES waste our precious cap space.
Players contracts are guaranteed, but FAN LOYALTY ISN'T.
If a player doesn't think they can perform at the rate of their cap hit, they should sign for less money. Don't worry, they'll still be FILTHY rich and could afford 4 mansions and 8 sports cars.

I know it sucked for Murphy, but it at least gives me some hope for leaf fans. At some point, the apathy WILL leave and mediocrity will NO LONGER be tolerated.

 

[Zonk]

Larry Murphy was an outstanding defenseman who did not join the Leafs until he was in his mid 30's and in the downside of his career.

When he was obtained, many Leaf fans were expecting a Larry Murphy in his prime. They were disappointed.

The Leaf teams that Murphy played on were horrible teams. He was given top pairing minutes and looked worse than he actually was.

Leaf fans booed him out of town. It was a mercy trade to send him to Detroit.

In Detroit, he was given sheltered minutes and looked much better than he had in Toronto. I believe that he won a couple more Cups there.

A sad, but useful, lesson how good teams utilize players to maximize their contributions and how poor teams do not. (See also Franson, C, on how loved he was by the fans in 2012-13 when he was given sheltered minutes as a third pairing defenseman and PP specialist and how despised he became when he was moved up in the lineup.)

 

[Tak7]

Just snap already and join the crazy side. It's more fun.

I was at a few home games at the end of the season (free!). I was one of the only people booing.

The last home game of the season? That embarrassment against the Jets? I had a 40-something year old guy arrogantly yell GO LEAFS in my face every time I tried to start booing in the third period.

I think I've already snapped. I'm trying to figure out why others haven't lol.

 

[nsleaf]

It was a shame what happened to Murphy.

This was pre-cap nhl, which meant that it was just billionaire leaf ownership that took a hit.
So the team only made $98 million that year, as opposed to $102 million. Boo hoo.

But now, in a capped league, leaf fans should boo the **** out of every player that DARES waste our precious cap space.
Players contracts are guaranteed, but FAN LOYALTY ISN'T.
If a player doesn't think they can perform at the rate of their cap hit, they should sign for less money. Don't worry, they'll still be FILTHY rich and could afford 4 mansions and 8 sports cars.

I know it sucked for Murphy, but it at least gives me some hope for leaf fans. At some point, the apathy WILL leave and mediocrity will NO LONGER be tolerated.[/QUOTE]

Don't hold your breath! All professional sports pay way too much anyway but players sign contracts based on market demand, there is no way any player would sign for less than a team is offering because he doesn't think he can perform at the rate of their cap hit. Besides if I was a GM and a player said such a thing to me I would immediately pull the offer because I would think this guy has a confidence problem. In a perfect world that would be great but......

 

[TheThrill81*]

It's still a bitter, brutal mob.

When Ontario boy and self-professed Leaf fan would rather go play for Florida than re-sign here, I think that tells you everything you need to know about this market and it's fans.

Bolland followed the money trail. It just so happens Florida were willing to overpay him, the Leafs weren't.

 

[yubbers]

It's still a bitter, brutal mob.

When Ontario boy and self-professed Leaf fan would rather go play for Florida than re-sign here, I think that tells you everything you need to know about this market and it's fans.

What did the fans and media do to Bolland? Nothing. He was well liked for his short stint.

If anything, that tells you everything you need to know about our management and leadership group

 

[Disgruntled Observer*]

Don't hold your breath! All professional sports pay way too much anyway but players sign contracts based on market demand, there is no way any player would sign for less than a team is offering because he doesn't think he can perform at the rate of their cap hit. Besides if I was a GM and a player said such a thing to me I would immediately pull the offer because I would think this guy has a confidence problem. In a perfect world that would be great but......

But that's only because fans very rarely hold players accountable.
Habs fans are probably the best at it.

My plan is that if fans of ALL teams started holding players accountable for PRECIOUS cap space that's wasted, we might start seeing some changes.
The GM doesn't get a free pass either. Nonis should be booed MERCILESSLY every single time the camera shows him at the acc.
how DARE he waste our precious cap space on Clarkson.
HOW DARE HE!!!!

 

[nsleaf]

But that's only because fans very rarely hold players accountable.
Habs fans are probably the best at it.

My plan is that if fans of ALL teams started holding players accountable for PRECIOUS cap space that's wasted, we might start seeing some changes.
The GM doesn't get a free pass either. Nonis should be booed MERCILESSLY every single time the camera shows him at the acc.
how DARE he waste our precious cap space on Clarkson.
HOW DARE HE!!!!

True that, players are rarely held accountable. Maybe players should be assigned a quota for points, hits, take aways, give aways, etc. You dont' meet the quota you take a pay cut. Like a performance bonus in reverse.