Larry Murphy

[Hyperkookeez*]

He's always talked about as being a very quiet dman who was good, but never noticeable and more of a secondary dman rather than someone you would have to lead a blueline. I never got the chance to see him play.

What was his playing style like? Jack of all trades, master of none? Did he have great speed, shot, or positional play? Why was he so good for so long? How good was he during his peak?

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[lextune]

He was noticeable.

He was quick (and quick enough) to take a chance and jump into the play, and smart enough to know when and where to do it.

One other thing that jumps to mind is the 'Murphy dump'.
Of course Larry wasn't the first D-Man to use the "flip it high over everyone out of the zone without icing the puck" move....but he sure did it well and quite often.

 

[CC Chiefs*]

HHOF player! Enough said!

 

[jor]

He was noticeable.

He was quick (and quick enough) to take a chance and jump into the play, and smart enough to know when and where to do it.

One other thing that jumps to mind is the 'Murphy dump'.
Of course Larry wasn't the first D-Man to use the "flip it high over everyone out of the zone without icing the puck" move....but he sure did it well and quite often.

When I think of Murphy this is one of the first things I think of. Very intelligent player.

 

[mrzeigler]

He was great on the powerplay, not only in coordinating things, but especially at keeping the puck in at the blue line.

Other than that, a very smart player who didn't overestimate his physical abilities and always put himself in the right place at the right time.

 

[Hyperkookeez*]

was he very good in the defensive end as well? would you guys classify him as a legit #1 defender, or a top pairing kind of guy?

 

[jor]

was he very good in the defensive end as well? would you guys classify him as a legit #1 defender, or a top pairing kind of guy?

He was like Coffey, imo, better offensive skills than defensive. Murphy was so intelligent on the ice and knew his limits that he was a top line dman with Lidstrom. Just not the true shutdown guy, if that's what you mean. Reliable, dependent and intelligent are the words that best describe him to me.

 

[Big Phil]

Murphy was the best defenseman on Pittsburgh when they won back to back Cups. And he was the 2nd best on Detroit when they did likewise. One of the best complimentary players of all time IMO. And don't take that word lightly either. Murphy was like Glenn Anderson in a way. He was the perfect anecdote on championship teams, he won plain and simple and played a good role in it as well. Never the best player on his team, but often the best defenseman and a few times a Norris finalist. Yeah a legit HHOFer for sure.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

He had to be protected in his own zone, he was slow and small. So bigger forwards could push him around and quicker forwards could blow past him. But, he was so smart that he usually found other solutions.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Larry Murphy slow and small ?

 

[Jumptheshark]

it is ironic that Murphy went into the HOF with Coffer and Bourque, because the fact he played at the same time of both and his career was over shadowed by both.

If Murphy player now or ten year earlier then he did--he would have a better reputation

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Larry Murphy slow and small ?

Depends what point in his career. I only saw him in the second half of his career, where his mobility had slipped. And, he is bigger then I thought now that I look into it. I guess he just didn't play his size.

 

[sidewayzLEAFS]

he was a great complimentary d-men
in other words he was a good #2 d-men on a solid team

 

[Burgs]

Murphy was a great passer but otherwise not the most physically gifted guy. Didn't have Coffey's speed, Chelios' meanness or MacInnis's cannon. But he was extremely smart, his hockey sense and positional play were his great strengths. Very low key, low maintenance player on the star-studded Pens teams of the early 90s, formed a great D pairing with Ulf Samuelsson. We didn't have anything comparable until we got Gonchar-Orpik together in 2007.

The "Murphy dumps" lextune mentioned led to many a Mario goal, especially in short-handed situations. Trading Murphy, even an aging one, to the Leafs for Dmitri Mironov in 1995 was a really bad deal, although probably a foreshadowing of the financial troubles Pittsburgh was going to run into a few years later.