Joe Murphy

[PSUhockey34]

Got bored and was looking at archived Capitals' articles and the story of Joe Murphy came up, the one where the Rangers' GM pitched all of Murphy's gear into the ocean after he signed with capitals while still practicing with the Rangers

I only got to see him play when he was in DC and he wasnt anything exciting, but how was his play when he was first drafted by the Wings 1st overall in '86, especially with the type players still available after the pick

4th Zalapaski
6th Damphousse
9th Leetch
11th Scott Young
13th Janney
22nd Adam Graves
29th Numminem
141st Odelein

Can he be considered a bust?, and if so, who in the '86 draft would you take before him...my no-brainer choice would have to be Leetch with Damphousse a close second

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[Biggest Canuck Fan]

Murphy was a huge part of the Oilers run to the cup in 90. Part of the kid line. Graves, Murphy, Gelinas. Those 3 really gave the Oilers some scoring and team depth behind the usual cast.

was a very decent role player for his career and certainly not overrated. He was what he was, and filled the role nicely. He scored 20+ goals in 5 consecutive seasons.

Was a bonafide NHL player that could score. He wasn't a bust IMO.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid[]=3853

his stats.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Without any research I'd guess his career is comparable to half the no 1's overall..

 

[God Bless Canada]

A bust? No. Had two 30-goal seasons, would have had one more if not for the lockout. Had two seasons over a point-per-game, a 70-pointer and a 60-pointer. Won a Cup in 1990, was terrific in the 1992 playoffs.

But an underachiever? For most of his career, yes. He was an extremely talented player with world-class speed and shot, to go with decent size. He could have been more than he turned out to be. He had a good, solid career (we're not talking about Jason Bonsignore here), but I'll always look back on his career and think there could have been more, especially after he turned 28.

 

[Big Phil]

I remember when Murphy's contract came up one year and he thought he deserved the money Mark Recchi was making. lol Yeah and if we ever did a poll on who is better who do you think would win? Here's a hint, his name isnt Murphy!

 

[MS]

As was already mentioned, he underachieved but was definitely not a bust. From 1990-96, he was a legit first-line forward (or elite second line guy), and had several seasons at or around a point-per-game in that period. Plus was a key contributor on the 1990 Cup team in Edmonton, and had a huge playoffs in 1992 taking Edmonton to the Conference Finals largely on his back.

With his ability, there's no reason he shouldn't have had 300-400 goals and 800-900 points by the time his career came to an end, instead of the 550 or so points he finished with. But he was a me-first guy in the dressing room, and a me-first guy at the contract table. Had falling-outs with almost every organization he played for (plus NYR, when he was on a tryout there). Basically he burned so many bridges, and earned such a negative reputation he basically played himself out of the league. Couldn't find a team after a 25-goal season in 1999, and was only 33 and still had NHL skills when his career ended.

His career really went downhill after signing a huge UFA contract with St. Louis in 1996. Couldn't live up to expectations, took a lot of heat, and everything was downhill from there.