Pittsburgh Penguins History: Coffey and Murphy get the Nod
By Rob Joncas
A look at Paul Coffey and Larry Murphy’s time with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On Jun. 10, 2004, it was announced that Pittsburgh Penguins Alumni, Larry Murphy, and Paul Coffey would be joining the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the 2004 induction class.
Here is a look back at Coffey and Murphy’s time with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Best Served Cold
Coffey’s entry deal to the Penguins stands as one of the biggest trades in team history.
On Nov. 24, 1987, Craig Simpson, Dave Hannan, Moe Mantha, and Chris Joesph were sent to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Coffey, Wayne Van Drop, and Dave Hunter.
Coffey spent parts of five seasons with Penguins and scored 108 goals and 440 points in 331 games played (GP)
Coffey’s best regular-season game with Pittsburgh occurred on Feb. 18, 1998, vs. Los Angeles, where he scored two goals and five points in the Penguins 7-5 win.
On Jan. 20, 1988, Coffey scored his only hattrick with Penguins, in an 8-3 win over Chicago.
Breakdown of offense during Coffey’s 331 games:
- 3 – Five Point Games
- 14 – Four Point Games
- 35 – Three Point Games
- 75 – Two Point Games
- 114 – One Point Games
- 90 – Zero Point Games
Coffey made appearances in 23 playoff games in two playoff years (1989, and 1991) with the Penguins and scored four goals and 26 points.
Coffey scored four points on two occasions (Apr. 25, 1991 and Apr 19, 1991) and scored the game-winning goal, in Game 1 of Pittsburgh’s matchup with the New York Rangers in 1989.
Along with winning the final Stanley Cup of his career with Pittsburgh, Coffey held the franchise’s scoring record for defencemen until 2018 when Kris Letang overtook his point total.
Coffey’s tenure with the Penguins ended on Feb. 19, 1992, when he was traded to the Kings.
Murphy’s Law
Larry Murphy
Murphy’s entry deal to the Penguins organization occurred on Dec. 11, 1990, when Murphy and Peter Taglianetti were acquired from the Minnesota North Stars, in exchange for Chris Dahlquist and Jim Johnson.
As with Coffey, Murphy spent parts of five seasons with Pittsburgh from 1990-1995 and scored 78 goals and 301 points in 336 GP.
Murphy’s best game (by points) occurred on Mar. 11, 1995 in a 6-2 Penguins win over the Buffalo Sabres, where Murphy scored two goals and four points.
Breakdown of offense during Murphy’s 336 GP with the Penguins:
- 1 – Four Point Game
- 13 – Three Point Games
- 62 – Two Point Games
- 130 – One Point Games
- 128 – Zero Point Games
Murphy played in 74 playoff games with Pittsburgh from 1991 to 1995 and scored 15 goals and 72 points.
Murphy’s best playoff performance (by points) occurred in Game 5 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, where Murphy scored four points in Pittsburgh’s 6-4 win over Minnesota.
Murphy won the first two of four career Stanley Cups with the Penguins.
On Jul. 8, 1995, Murphy was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Dmitri Mironov and a draft pick.