The Pittsburgh Penguins’ organizational history has a plethora of great players, and we’ve decided to go through the best Penguins’ players to wear each jersey number. Today, we continue the list by naming the best #55 in Penguins’ history.
View the original article to see embedded media.
Six players have worn #55 in team history, with forward Noel Acciari currently sporting it. Most of them have been defensemen. Ric Jackman wore it during the X-Generation era Penguins in 2004, and Philip Samuelsson – the son of famed Penguins’ defenseman Ulf Samuelsson – wore it briefly in 2014.
But this was, really, a two-horse race between one team-great defensemen during the Lemieux era and one during the Crosby era. And while Sergei Gonchar made significant contributions to the Penguins’ 2009 Stanley Cup run, the best #55 in team history is Larry Murphy.
Murphy – who was the mastermind behind what is now known as the “Murphy Dump” – was traded to Pittsburgh on December 11, 1990, along with defenseman Peter Taglianetti, from the Minnesota North Stars for defensemen Chris Dahlquist and Jim Johnson.
The trade ended up paying dividends for Pittsburgh, as Murphy played a critical role in the 1991 and 1992 Cup runs.
Related: Best Penguins By Jersey Number: #54
Murphy scored five goals and put up 28 points in the 44 games after the trade, and he helped guide the team to the playoffs in 1991. He led Penguins’ defensemen in scoring during the postseason, clocking in at a point-per-game and registering five goals and 23 points in 23 playoff games.
One of the goals came in the title-clinching Game 6 of the Cup Final against none other than his former team, the North Stars:
In 1991-92, Murphy finished the regular season at exactly point-per-game with 21 goals and 77 points in 77 games played. His 16 points in 21 playoff games helped the Penguins to their second consecutive Stanley Cup in 1992.
And he, again, lit the lamp in the title-clinching Game 4 during the third period.
Murphy played for Pittsburgh for three more seasons, registering 52 goals and 196 points in 215 games during that time. He was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 8, 1995, in exchange for defenseman Dmitri Mironov and Toronto’s second round pick in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.
He won back-to-back Cups – again – with the Detroit Red Wings in 1996-97 and 1997-98. He finished his career fifth all-time in scoring among NHL defenseman with 288 goals and 1,217 points in 1,615 games.
Murphy was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.
Related: Best Penguins By Jersey Number: #53
Related: Best Penguins By Jersey Number: #52
