Sports / Press & broadcasting
Larry Murphy
born 1961 · ice hockey defenceman, broadcaster
Hall of Fame defenceman whose late-career trade to Detroit added the experience that helped the Red Wings win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998; he later stayed in Detroit as a broadcaster.
- Born
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
age 65- Birth name
- Lawrence Thomas Murphy
- Detroit years
- 1997–present
- Field
- Sports, Press & broadcasting
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Already a two-time Stanley Cup champion from his years with Pittsburgh, Murphy was traded to Detroit in March 1997, and coach Scotty Bowman, who had coached him with the Penguins, believed his experience and offensive instincts would round out a Red Wings blue line built for a title run. It worked immediately: Detroit won the Stanley Cup that June, ending a 42-year drought, and Murphy helped anchor the defense again as the club repeated as champions in 1998, giving him four Cups in total, two with each franchise. He retired in 2001 with the most games ever played by a defenceman and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He never really left Detroit, working for years afterward as a Red Wings broadcast analyst.
Highlights
- Traded to the Detroit Red Wings in March 1997
- Won back-to-back Stanley Cups with Detroit in 1997 and 1998
- Retired in 2001 with 1,615 career NHL games, then the most by a defenceman
- Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, 2004
- Became a longtime Red Wings television broadcaster
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 1997–2001
Joe Louis Arena
Demolished · 1979–2017
His home rink through both his Stanley Cup wins with Detroit and into his broadcasting career; demolished after the team moved out in 2017.