Mike Murphy (ice hockey b. 1950)

For other people named Michael Murphy, see Michael Murphy (disambiguation).

Mike Murphy
Born	(1950-09-12) September 12, 1950 Toronto, Ontario, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
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

Michael John Murphy (born September 12, 1950 in Toronto, Ontario) is a former hockey player in the NHL, and former head coach in the NHL and IHL.

As a player, he played for the St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings. Mike was captain of the L.A. Kings for 7 years and played in L.A. for 13 years. He played for Team Canada (bronze medal winner) and was assistant coach for Team Canada. Mike was selected to play on the NHL All Star team in 1980. He has career totals in the NHL of 231 goals, 318 assists for 556 total points in 831 games played. Upon retiring from hockey with the Los Angeles Kings, he became their Head Coach. Mike went on to be Assistant coach of Vancouver Canucks,Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers. Mike was promoted from assistant coach of the Vancouver Canucks to head coach of their farm team (Milwaukee Admirals, A.H.L.) Mike left milwaukee for an assistant coach position with the prestigious Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. Mike was them promoted to be the 24th Head Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Currently, Murphy is the senior vice-president of the N.H.L., hockey operations.

Controversies

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. 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'". 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." 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. The puck was kicked into the net with a kicking motion but not a pendulum like motion.

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)	4th in Smythe	(fired)
TOR	1996–97	82	30	44	8	68	6th in Central	Did not qualify
TOR	1997–98	82	30	43	9	69	6th in Central	Did not qualify

Preceded by Terry Harper	Los Angeles Kings captain 1975-81	Succeeded by Dave Lewis
Preceded by Pat Quinn	Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings 1986–87	Succeeded by Rogatien Vachon
Preceded by Nick Beverley	Head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs 1996–98	Succeeded by Pat Quinn

External links

• Mike Murphy's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database