Larry Murphy In Toronto...
- Thread starter GlitchMarner
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The Panther
Registered User
Murphy was awesome in Toronto, just like he was awesome for every team he played for. He was incredible in 1981-82, and he was incredible in 1998-99 (a little less those last two old-man seasons).
Murphy got his back after the Wings won in '97 and he said, "They (Leafs' fans) don't understand hockey."
Murphy got his back after the Wings won in '97 and he said, "They (Leafs' fans) don't understand hockey."
GlitchMarner
Typical malevolent, devious & vile Maple Leafs fan
LeafChief
Matthew Knies Enthusiast
Murphy was good as a Leaf.
Leafs fans like to pick one player and pile on. See: Jake Gardiner (currently).
Leafs fans like to pick one player and pile on. See: Jake Gardiner (currently).
FerrisRox
"Wanna go, Prettyboy?"
A large factor in Murphy's treatment by Maple Leaf fans seemed to stem from the fact that they were rather ignorant of what kind of player he was before he arrived in Toronto despite the fact that he was a well regarded veteran player with a fifteen year career.
The Maple Leafs got bounced from the 1995 playoffs by a Chicago team that featured both Gary Suter and Chris Chelios who logged major minutes and proved to be a significant factor in the series.
Shortly after, Cliff Fletcher acquired Larry Murphy and in the introductory press conference referenced the Chicago series and the two aforementioned blue liners.
While Murphy was skilled offensive blue liner, and a guy that ate up major minutes, much like Chelios and Suter, he was a very different player. Chelios and Suter both played with a mean streak, excelled at hard nose hockey and were very competitive players. That wasn't Murphy at all and instead of being appreciated for what he was, he was endlessly criticized for what he wasn't.
Additionally, the timing of his acquisition hurt him as well. The 1992-93 and 1993-94 squads had made it to the Conference Final but the '95 team fell to Chicago but instead of acknowledging that the team was in decline (many key players from those conference final teams were older veterans like Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Bob Rouse, Dave Ellett and other older guys had been acquired, like Murphy, Kirk Muller, Sergio Momesso and Wendel Clark's return) Fletcher went out and added another greying veteran to "go for it." Felix Potvin also got worse each year he played in the league and by the time Murphy arrived, the team wasn't getting consistent goaltending from him. The fan base thought the team was still a contender, but they definitely were not and as a high paid veteran that had no connection to the teams that had done well in '93 and '94, Murphy became the lightning rod for their frustrations.
The Maple Leafs got bounced from the 1995 playoffs by a Chicago team that featured both Gary Suter and Chris Chelios who logged major minutes and proved to be a significant factor in the series.
Shortly after, Cliff Fletcher acquired Larry Murphy and in the introductory press conference referenced the Chicago series and the two aforementioned blue liners.
While Murphy was skilled offensive blue liner, and a guy that ate up major minutes, much like Chelios and Suter, he was a very different player. Chelios and Suter both played with a mean streak, excelled at hard nose hockey and were very competitive players. That wasn't Murphy at all and instead of being appreciated for what he was, he was endlessly criticized for what he wasn't.
Additionally, the timing of his acquisition hurt him as well. The 1992-93 and 1993-94 squads had made it to the Conference Final but the '95 team fell to Chicago but instead of acknowledging that the team was in decline (many key players from those conference final teams were older veterans like Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Bob Rouse, Dave Ellett and other older guys had been acquired, like Murphy, Kirk Muller, Sergio Momesso and Wendel Clark's return) Fletcher went out and added another greying veteran to "go for it." Felix Potvin also got worse each year he played in the league and by the time Murphy arrived, the team wasn't getting consistent goaltending from him. The fan base thought the team was still a contender, but they definitely were not and as a high paid veteran that had no connection to the teams that had done well in '93 and '94, Murphy became the lightning rod for their frustrations.
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The Panther
Registered User
Excellent summation; I agree with all points.
It's a sensitive spot for me because I think Murphy was (and is) one of the most under-appreciated D-men of his time, if not of all time. He made the Hall of Fame, so I can sleep at night, but I don't think a lot of people to this day appreciate how good he was -- and I mean long before he won Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh. Before that all happened, he had already done the following:
- 4th overall draft choice (highest in 1980 draft)
- 1980-81: most assists and points by a rookie defenceman in NHL history (more than Bourque the year prior)
- In three seasons with L.A. (1980-1983) was the 4th-highest scoring D-man in the NHL
- Top D-man for (almost) six years in Washington, which was the #1 defensive team in the NHL
- Led the Capitals in scoring in 1987 and was NHL 2nd-team All Star
- 7 points in 8 games at '87 Canada Cup
- Third-highest scoring defenceman of the 1980s
There were periods with Washington -- around 1985 to 1988 -- where he was very Ray Bourque-like in his importance to that team, both offensively and defensively.
Leafs fans had no excuse for booing him out of town!
It wasn't just in Toronto, he got razzed in Washington as well when he started. Offensive minded, made young player mistakes. Once when the Leafs showed up to Washington during a reg season game the home team gave out some goofy whistles for some kind of promotion. the fans immediately began goofing on Murphy, every one blowing these funny whistles every time he touched the puck. The next season the regular fans even brought the whistles back for the Leafs visit and once again whistled him up every time he got the puck.
He deserved better, and eventually got his in Detroit.
He deserved better, and eventually got his in Detroit.
TheGoldenJet
Registered User
Murphy was not very good with the Wings. In that 97 Cup run he was lucky to grace the ice with a prime Nicklas Lidstrom as his D partner and amazing two-way Selke caliber forwards in front of him like peak Sergei Fedorov and a still very good Steve Yzerman. That and Detroit’s left wing lock system covered up for much of his deficiencies.
Spirit of 67
Registered User
The city has a habit of hating good players and loving crappy ones.
Ty Domi > Mats Sundin is a good example.
Ty Domi > Mats Sundin is a good example.
Spirit of 67
Registered User
Hated may be strong although there were some. But basically, he was never warmed up to as much as Clark and, sadly, Domi, because he didn't fight. The general consensus was he was too soft to be the captain.
But look how popular John McDonald was as a Jay. One of the most popular ever.
Two big factors there, one as pointed out by Spirit, Sundin was not a physical player and W Clarke went out the door in the trade, double whammy there, second big factor was he was Capt after Doug Gilmour, while not a fighter, had the nickname "Killer". Sundin was never appreciated in Hogtown to the degree he deserved to be.
I am not so sure Murphy played his best hockey in TO. A offensive talent first, he was prone to some bad defensive moves at the best of times and he seemed to have that issue in TO. That was a issue when he started in Washington.
Remember when the Capitals had offensive defensemen and the opposite on forwards. I can't remember the coach, but one opposing coach in the playoffs back then referred to the Caps as having defensmen play like forwards and forwards who played like defensemen.
tony d
Registered User
A player I've always liked. Came along at the wrong time in Toronto though. Had they gotten him in 1992 or 1993 then I think things would have worked out better for him with the Leafs.
FerrisRox
"Wanna go, Prettyboy?"
FerrisRox
"Wanna go, Prettyboy?"
Spirit of 67
Registered User
EpochLink
Canucks and Jets fan
The Capitals had Scott Stevens, Larry Murphy, Kevin Hatcher, Al Iafrate, Sylvain Cote, Sergei Gonchar.
At one point in their Capitals career, they put up points where you swear they were forwards.
FerrisRox
"Wanna go, Prettyboy?"
You think John McDonald is "one of the most popular ever" Blue Jays?
There's a world of difference between being "loved" as a hard working guy on a fairly crappy team for a couple of lost seasons and being "one of the most popular ever."
John McDonald is nowhere near the top of the list of all time favorite Blue Jays, that's just silly.
vadim sharifijanov
Registered User
- Oct 10, 2007
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tbf, does anybody enjoy watching big slow defensemen that don’t score at even strength and never play the body?
Big Phil
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Not hated. But the classic line was "We'll never win with him as captain." It grated my nerves when people said that because true fans knew Sundin never got a proper winger until an old Mogilny showed up. The problem with Sundin is that he didn't fight and being so big the fans thought he should. Matthews might start getting some of that same if the Leafs don't pick it up. But Sundin was a player who used his size differently than others. He used it to protect the puck, to wrap around the net and he was almost impossible to knock off the puck. He didn't throw checks around as much as you'd like, but it wasn't as if he was soft either. One of the most consistent players of all-time and a guy who rarely missed a game. I loved him, and while he was always cordial with the press he was no different than a Joe Sakic type who never preferred to be the centre of attention.
As time has gone by Leaf fans would kill to have a guy like him as their captain again.
Big Phil
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As for Murphy, part of the reason he got jeered was because the fans felt he should do more because of how much he was being paid. I think it was a then-generous $2.3 million a year. I don't know why that number is stuck in my head, but it is.
Either way it was a terrible way to treat him. He wasn't even there long enough to get hate built up against him.
Either way it was a terrible way to treat him. He wasn't even there long enough to get hate built up against him.
sr edler
gold is not reality
- Mar 20, 2010
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Sundin had good stats in two Conference Finals showings. 11 points in 8 games. Even in Vancouver in his last year he had 8 points in 8 games. I heard that narrative about Roberts and McCauley bringing Toronto to the 2002 CFs, but they had 1 point each in the Carolina series, while Sundin had 4. He even tied game 5 with 22 seconds left. I didn't watch those games, but that narrative seems a bit suspect looking at the stats.
Agreed. Murphy fit like a glove with Detroit. He thrived under Bowman in Pittsburgh, he had all the skills to play their system, and playing RH Murphy with LH Lidstrom made sense from the start but it was one of those moves that really illustrated Bowman’s genius in hindsight.
Murphy was amazing in both Cups runs and then slowed down like all players do in their late 30s.
Living in Toronto I used to watch every Leaf game but Murphy’s performance in Toronto doesn’t stand out. I do remember wondering if he was finished because he did look soooo slow at times. Of course I remember the booing and media frenzy, too. The whole team went into the dumps that year, so the slow methodical defenseman was easy to make into the scapegoat. It was a strange tire fire to watch with Don Cherry’s boys (Dougie, Kirk Muller, Clark, Domi) and a very productive Sundin on the team.
