Thirty-five years ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins made one of the most quietly transformative acquisitions in franchise history when they brought Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Murphy (and Peter Taglianetti) to Pittsburgh.
The Ron Francis trade rightly gets most of the publicity for turning the Penguins into a Stanley Cup winner, but the Murphy trade may be the most underrated trade in the history of the franchise.
At the time, Murphy arrived as an already-established elite blueliner, but what he became in Pittsburgh was something even greater: he became the stabilizing force and puck-moving catalyst that helped unlock the team’s potential on the blue line to become back-to-back Stanley Cup champs. (Murphy's presence was also another reason they could trade Paul Coffey the next season for Tocchet.)
That pass to Mario in Game 6 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Final that led to the 2nd goal (shorthanded) showcased the elite talent he brought to critical situations. That pass still blows my mind!
35 years goes fast! That trade feels like yesterday.
4 comments
I liked how Caps fans carried on the “whoop” tradition with Gonchar
Murphy is probably my favorite Pens D of all time.
Just so good at every facet of the game. Never flashy, not super fast, but his hockey IQ was off the charts. Always in the right place, always making the right play.
He has a dump named after him! Do you know how good you have to be to have a dump named after you?
Plus the Murphy dump was the best thing ever.
The Pens would have a one goal lead with five minutes and he would Murphy dump at least two of those minutes away and it was almost never icing. The rest of the team started doing it too.
55 is my absolute favorite player ever. I wore 55 because of Murph, did my best to do a respectable Murphy Dump when I played, and met him once in Columbus. Absolutely my guy!
I can still hear my mom cheering like a crazy woman for Larry Murphy.
Man I miss her.