Mike Murphy (ice hockey, born 1950)

Michael John Murphy (born September 12, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for 13 years for the St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings and has been assistant and head coach in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers. Murphy also played for Team Canada, winning a bronze medal in 1978, and coached Team Canada, International Hockey League (IHL). Murphy is presently Senior Vice President of the NHL, hockey operations.

Mike Murphy
Murphy with the St. Louis Blues in 1971
Born	(1950-09-12) September 12, 1950 (age 74) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Right
Played for	St. Louis Blues New York Rangers Los Angeles Kings
National team	Canada
NHL draft	25th overall, 1970 New York Rangers
Playing career	1971–1983

Mike Murphy with the Team Canada in 1979

Playing career

As a youth, he and teammate Peter Sullivan played in the 1963 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey from North York.^[1]

In the National Hockey League, he played for the St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings. Murphy was captain of the Los Angeles Kings for 7 years and played in Los Angeles for 13 years. He played for Team Canada (bronze medal winner) and was an assistant coach for Team Canada.^{[citation needed]} Murphy was selected to play on the NHL All-Star team in 1980. He has career totals in the NHL of 231 goals, and 318 assists for 556 total points in 831 games played.

Coaching career

Upon retiring from hockey with the Los Angeles Kings, he became their head coach. Murphy went on to be assistant coach of the Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators, and New York Rangers. Murphy was promoted from assistant coach of the Vancouver Canucks to head coach of their farm team, the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). Murphy left Milwaukee for an assistant coach position with the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. Murphy was then promoted to be the 24th head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

NHL vice-president

As NHL vice-president of hockey operations, Murphy was forced to make a tough call during game three of the first round of the 2010 Stanley Cup. Murphy disallowed what was first ruled as a 3-4 goal on the ice for the Vancouver Canucks against Murphy's former team, the Los Angeles Kings. The incident is one of many that has called for greater NHL transparency from the public.^[2] The official ruling stated that "Video Review was used to determine whether the puck was kicked into the net by Vancouver's Daniel Sedin with a kicking motion. Upon review, it was determined that the puck was propelled into the net by a kicking motion. This was not a deflection. The direction the puck was moving and the force of the skate were the determining factors in concluding 'no goal'".^[3] According to rule 49.2 of the NHL, "A puck that is directed into the net by an attacking player’s skate shall be a legitimate goal as long as no distinct kicking motion is evident."^[4] Later, in an interview with CBC Hockey Night in Canada, Murphy admitted that the puck was not kicked in a "distinct kicking motion", as the official NHL rules require, yet Murphy maintained his position on the judgement.^[3]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1968–69	Toronto Marlboros	OHA-Jr.		44	16	23	39	53		6	1	4	5	6
1969–70	Toronto Marlboros	OHA-Jr.		54	23	27	50	68		6	7	6	13	16
1970–71	Omaha Knights	CHL		59	24	47	71	37		11	4	8	12	17
1971–72	Omaha Knights	CHL		8	1	4	5	12		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	St. Louis Blues	NHL		63	20	23	43	19		11	2	3	5	6
1972–73	St. Louis Blues	NHL		64	18	27	45	48		—	—	—	—	—
1972–73	New York Rangers	NHL		15	4	4	8	5		10	0	0	0	0
1973–74	New York Rangers	NHL		16	2	1	3	0		—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		53	13	16	29	38		5	0	4	4	0
1974–75	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		78	30	38	68	44		3	3	0	3	4
1975–76	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		80	26	42	68	61		9	1	4	5	6
1976–77	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		76	25	36	61	58		9	4	9	13	4
1977–78	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		72	20	36	56	48		2	0	0	0	0
1978–79	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		64	16	29	45	38		2	0	1	1	0
1979–80	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		80	27	22	49	29		4	1	0	1	2
1980–81	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		68	16	23	39	54		1	1	0	1	0
1981–82	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		28	5	10	15	20		10	2	1	3	32
1982–83	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		74	16	11	27	52		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				831	238	318	556	514		66	13	23	36	54

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Finish	Result
LAK	1986–87	38	13	21	4	(70)	4th in Smythe	Lost in First Round
LAK	1987–88	27	7	16	4	(68)	(fired)	—
TOR	1996–97	82	30	44	8	68	6th in Central	Missed playoffs
TOR	1997–98	82	30	43	9	69	6th in Central	Missed playoffs
Total		229	80	124	27

References

1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
2. Transparency needed on Canucks' disallowed goal | CBC Sports
3. NHL's explanation for disallowing Daniel Sedin's goal - latimes.com
4. Official Rules - Rule 49: Kicking - NHL.com - Rules

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Terry Harper	Los Angeles Kings captain 1975–1981	Succeeded by Dave Lewis
Preceded by Pat Quinn	Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings 1986–1987	Succeeded by Rogatien Vachon
Preceded by Nick Beverley	Head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs 1996–1998	Succeeded by Pat Quinn