Speaker 1: A friend of mine and one of the greatest hockey
Speaker 1: players to ever play, especially his position. Larry Murphy, the
Speaker 1: Hall of Famer, joins us. Does an outstanding job as
Speaker 1: an analyst in studio and during games too, on Red
Speaker 1: Wings Hockey, on Ballet Sports, and he's joined us here
Speaker 1: on this Friday morning. Murph, hope you and your family
Speaker 1: are well. How are you, my friend doing well?
Speaker 2: Matt. That's quite the introduction. That's why you're one of
Speaker 2: my best buddies. Thank you, man.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no worries. You deserve it, that's for certain. Tell
Speaker 1: me a little bit about your thoughts on Most Ciders
Speaker 1: contract and why you think it was important for the
Speaker 1: Red Wings to get it done now.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, of course, no option but to sign the
Speaker 2: most Cider, And of course the Wings are trying to
Speaker 2: avoid a short term contract. The long term contract gives
Speaker 2: them that it gives them a player, speaking of Cider,
Speaker 2: for the next seven years and actually into his free
Speaker 2: agency PERIODO. That's why the numbers are so big for
Speaker 2: a young player that's twenty three, because a twenty seven
Speaker 2: Sider could have become a free agent, but he made
Speaker 2: the decision to sign with the Wings and play till thirty,
Speaker 2: right in his prime hockey years. As you know, Matt,
Speaker 2: he's the number one guy back on the blue line,
Speaker 2: plays against the opposition's best forwards. Has really established himself
Speaker 2: as a top defender in the National Hockey League. So
Speaker 2: for the Wings trying to build a championship team, he's
Speaker 2: obviously one of the cornerstones for that process.
Speaker 1: What do you admire as a Hall of Fame defenseman
Speaker 1: yourself and a guy who four cups over sixteen hundred
Speaker 1: games played folks for Larry Murphy. I don't know if
Speaker 1: most sider is going to play that many. I mean, hell,
Speaker 1: he's only played two hundred and forty six in his career,
Speaker 1: but he sure seems like at least a number one
Speaker 1: pairing for the Red Wings. You can look at him
Speaker 1: as as well as anybody. What do you like about
Speaker 1: his game?
Speaker 2: Well, Cider plays with He's a big guy, plays with
Speaker 2: a lot of grit. He's very difficult to play against.
Speaker 2: Plays a physical game, so the opposition forwards, there's no
Speaker 2: free pass when he's on the ice. If he can
Speaker 2: you know, if he can take a run at ye,
Speaker 2: he's going to do exactly that. And he's also a
Speaker 2: very responsible player. That's why, I mean, that's why, that's
Speaker 2: why he's he's the player he is, or as he
Speaker 2: is he's considered, as people talk about him, is that
Speaker 2: he's a go too. He has the ability also of
Speaker 2: no matter what the situation is, whether you're up a goal,
Speaker 2: down a goal, of critical points in the game, you know,
Speaker 2: at the end of the game, he's he's the guy
Speaker 2: that's going to be the first guy that's going to
Speaker 2: go over the boards for the team. So he's he
Speaker 2: plays critical minutes for this team, and it's, uh, you know,
Speaker 2: that's that's key, and he does it well. I mean
Speaker 2: some teams are forced to put put players in that
Speaker 2: situation that that maybe aren't so comfortable, but Cider excels
Speaker 2: in that area and and that's uh, I mean, that's
Speaker 2: that's why they had to sign up. And that's why
Speaker 2: he's been, you know, such a great addition to the
Speaker 2: Wings and the play in the first three years, I mean,
Speaker 2: comes up great wins. The called her trophy is the
Speaker 2: Rookie of the Year. Second year a bit of a
Speaker 2: I don't know if you'd say a bit of a
Speaker 2: setback second year James, and then last year boy just
Speaker 2: just continued the Upswing and I guess for me, I
Speaker 2: was watching Cider play as well. I mean, if this
Speaker 2: is only his fourth year, I mean, is this guy
Speaker 2: going to develop into a you know, an annual Norris
Speaker 2: Trophy candidate? Could very well be he's been. Definitely I
Speaker 2: see another more improvement from this season, which bodes well
Speaker 2: for the Wings and they're you know, they're gold to
Speaker 2: make the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Hall of Famer and four time Stanley Cup champ Larry
Speaker 1: Murphy joining us here on Exus and Bros. Steve Eisman
Speaker 1: has gone about his business I think the right way,
Speaker 1: but signing most sider Lucas Raymond, obviously, Dylan Larkin to
Speaker 1: a certain extent, Joe Valento shorter term deal but still
Speaker 1: an effective player on your back six. Uh, what type
Speaker 1: of sign do you think that is sending Red Wings fans?
Speaker 1: With Steve Eisman going about his business.
Speaker 2: This way, well, he's always been and he's always managed
Speaker 2: the cap seemingly well. And he said right from day one,
Speaker 2: he's not you know, he's not going to basically co after,
Speaker 2: you know, a thirty two year old player and signed
Speaker 2: him for six to seven years, He's not going to
Speaker 2: handcuff the team's cap by doing that. So he's managed
Speaker 2: it well. Today is comedy. He's had to make some
Speaker 2: tough decisions this offseason because both Cider and Raymond both
Speaker 2: are taking up but you know together that each year
Speaker 2: they're taking up over sixteen and a half million dollars
Speaker 2: of the cap space. So Heisman had to manage. But
Speaker 2: we see guys like Robbie Fabric had to go, you know,
Speaker 2: Prawn signed as a free agent, and Sprong's gone and
Speaker 2: Gotta Fear signed to the free agent. These are guys
Speaker 2: that produced offense for this team. But he had to
Speaker 2: make the move, make the decision in order to what's
Speaker 2: best for this team. It's what they a's are gone
Speaker 2: now for the Red Wings where they had a pile
Speaker 2: of cap space and they could actually take on players
Speaker 2: from other teams that were in cap trouble, that's not
Speaker 2: the case now now he's you know, they're up against
Speaker 2: it now and he's and he's managed it well. He's
Speaker 2: able to get those two guys signed the long term deals,
Speaker 2: manages to get Caine to come back, which I think
Speaker 2: was critical for this season, without a doubt, Patrick Kine
Speaker 2: coming back, and so he'shumed, He's made the right moves,
Speaker 2: you know, and it's just now it's a boy. I mean,
Speaker 2: I mean they should have been in the playoffs last year.
Speaker 2: I mean things kind of went off the rails a
Speaker 2: bit at the end of the year and they end
Speaker 2: up losing a tiebreaker for that last spot. But I
Speaker 2: spent matt this year that they're going to be right
Speaker 2: there knocking against these It's not going to be easy.
Speaker 2: I mean, a Jersey is an improved team, but I
Speaker 2: mean the Wings also, I mean they kept these guys,
Speaker 2: Uh look at Raymond and inside of these guys that
Speaker 2: are going to continue to improve and take on, you know,
Speaker 2: take on a bigger role of this team and hopefully
Speaker 2: more production.
Speaker 1: What do you think they learned about making that playoff
Speaker 1: push but losing the tiebreaker to Washington And what did
Speaker 1: you learn the first time that you were close to
Speaker 1: making the playoffs that maybe helped you the next year
Speaker 1: to get to the postseason.
Speaker 2: Well, one thing that helps for a player and for
Speaker 2: the team is playing critical games late in the season, battles,
Speaker 2: I guess you become battle tested. And that's the one
Speaker 2: thing the Wings. You know that every game that's this
Speaker 2: is first year in quite a few years. Last season,
Speaker 2: that is last season's first season quite a few seasons
Speaker 2: where these guys are playing really tough, meaningful games. So
Speaker 2: you know, you learn from that, You've become more hardened.
Speaker 2: You know, it's no longer a surprise for you. Just
Speaker 2: you're able to deal with the emotions and the pressure.
Speaker 2: So that, I mean, that'll serve this team well going
Speaker 2: into going into this season. And uh, I mean, the
Speaker 2: best case scenarios is that they get themselves into a
Speaker 2: solid play off position throughout the year and take away that,
Speaker 2: you know, the pressure of squeaking in at the end.
Speaker 2: So that's the best case scenario. But there's a good
Speaker 2: chance because of the Eastern Conference being so tough, that
Speaker 2: they're going to be baling right to the end again.
Speaker 2: But they've been there before, so they will have that
Speaker 2: to rely.
Speaker 1: On the importance of not having just youth, but also
Speaker 1: having that mix of veteran leaderships or even young veterans.
Speaker 1: You know, they don't have to be forty years old
Speaker 1: to lead. You can still be twenty eight to twenty nine,
Speaker 1: but you've gone through some wars. Bringing in a guy
Speaker 1: like Vladimir Tarasenko, cam Talbot's a little bit older. How
Speaker 1: important is it to have that mix Murph to between
Speaker 1: the young guys who haven't been there before but have
Speaker 1: accomplished a lot personally and guys who have been there
Speaker 1: before and still have an awful lot to add.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that's the dream of any team is is
Speaker 2: to have the mix of leadership. You want, the experience
Speaker 2: in the dressing room and then Cider and Raymond examples
Speaker 2: there now where these guys are going to take a
Speaker 2: bigger role in the dressing room in terms of leadership.
Speaker 2: They've you know, they've been through it now for a
Speaker 2: few years now. You know they've never gone to the
Speaker 2: Cup finals or anything, but they they have experience behind it.
Speaker 2: But you know, you get that balance. I mean you want,
Speaker 2: you know, you want raw young energy and you also,
Speaker 2: as you touch on Matt, is it you know you
Speaker 2: want you want the veteran presence, uh, the guys that
Speaker 2: settle things down when you know, when it gets gets
Speaker 2: a little hairy out there, Guys with a lot of experience.
Speaker 2: So he's got he's got that's got that good mix
Speaker 2: of of players that throughout the line up in that
Speaker 2: in that spectrum.
Speaker 1: What what do you think Derek Lallan's been learned uh
Speaker 1: last year that will help him this year as head goat.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I have more experience behind the bench. He's a
Speaker 2: he's a type of coach that is striving to improve.
Speaker 2: He uh he has you know, hasn't got the team
Speaker 2: to the playoffs yet. I think there's going to be
Speaker 2: pressure on him this season to do that, even though
Speaker 2: even though the team could theoretically be improved and not
Speaker 2: make the playoffs, which I mean that's a kind of
Speaker 2: a sliver of a of an area to get into.
Speaker 2: But I think Lulan is well respected by the players,
Speaker 2: real smart, a student of the game. I think he's
Speaker 2: you know, a lot more confidence now he's got you know,
Speaker 2: he's got this team to believe more on what he
Speaker 2: has on the on the bench, will come to approach
Speaker 2: it with more confidence this season. He's a smart man.
Speaker 2: It's good a key year for him though, definitely for
Speaker 2: in his tender as as coach for the Wings.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the division is so much better. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: it's such a hard division to try and come out
Speaker 1: of there. I'm interested in this though. You're you're a
Speaker 1: guy from Scarborough, Ontario, but you're a Detroiter. How caught
Speaker 1: up are you in in the Tigers' success recent success
Speaker 1: and and the Lions expectations as a fan?
Speaker 2: Stepping back a little bit, well, it's I mean I've
Speaker 2: been here now, lived in Detroit now for twenty five years.
Speaker 2: It's uh, I mean I've been here by far longer
Speaker 2: than anywhere else, even where I grew up, as you
Speaker 2: point out, in Scarborough. Of course you I'm a huge
Speaker 2: sports fan, and the Lion story is really the Tiger
Speaker 2: story is is really intriguing. That's, you know, a team
Speaker 2: that you know left for dead I think a bit
Speaker 2: big of a strong comment, but the team that were
Speaker 2: you know, nobody thought that they could do with they
Speaker 2: what they've done this season. So it's an exciting time.
Speaker 2: And those you know, they've as a team, they've really
Speaker 2: rallied around being the underdog boy. They've obviously played it
Speaker 2: to the to the best. And then and then you
Speaker 2: have the Lions, which I mean the hiccup last last weekend,
Speaker 2: a team that the expectations. What scares me is I
Speaker 2: always hate the situation where some people were handling them
Speaker 2: the super Bowl, which is always makes me nervous when
Speaker 2: there's that much calm, and especially in football, so I
Speaker 2: mean it's excame time. We just need the Pistons to
Speaker 2: kind of get themselves back on track. They've made management moves,
Speaker 2: so hopefully that'll be the case. But yeah, for a
Speaker 2: sports fan now and then the state of Michigan, well
Speaker 2: you've got a lot to root for.
Speaker 1: What would you tell young athletes who have those expectations,
Speaker 1: because look, you've been on teams and you personally the
Speaker 1: expectations were there. I mean, you had it with Pittsburgh,
Speaker 1: you had it with the Red Wings, you had it
Speaker 1: in Washington with great players, great teams in general, and
Speaker 1: the expectations were super high. How do you how do
Speaker 1: you handle that? And how would you suggest young players
Speaker 1: handle that today?
Speaker 2: I think you, Uh, it's almost the same for for
Speaker 2: for every player in every situation. Is you need to
Speaker 2: you need to have a real honest talk with yourself,
Speaker 2: a real honest self evaluation of of of how you're
Speaker 2: playing and what you need to improve on it that
Speaker 2: you always have to there's always has need to be
Speaker 2: a push to improve. That's always got to be a
Speaker 2: case right to the day that you retire. You got
Speaker 2: to you can make yourself a better player, and that's
Speaker 2: a healthy approach to the game. Dealing with pressure is
Speaker 2: it's it's difficult. That's a situation you'd love to be in.
Speaker 2: I mean, the Wings would love to be in a
Speaker 2: situation where they're considered a threat for the Stanley Cup.
Speaker 2: That comes with it comes up, you've got to handle.
Speaker 2: You've got to be able to I guess, push that
Speaker 2: noise aside. Focus on yourself as a player and focus
Speaker 2: on what can I do to increase this this team's chance.
Speaker 2: And it's the same winning and losing, But dealing with
Speaker 2: the pressure is definitely a different element that top teams,
Speaker 2: top teams players have to deal with.
Speaker 1: You're working out today as usual.
Speaker 2: I'll be there. I'll see you there chep watching you
Speaker 2: throw those weights around.
Speaker 1: Like I'll Actually, I'll be working at my house today.
Speaker 1: I'm skipping a workout day because I'm working on the house,
Speaker 1: replacing some some things that I probably shouldn't because I'm
Speaker 1: really not qualified. How much did you enjoy doing TV?
Speaker 1: Did you ever think TV?
Speaker 2: What's that? Sorry, Matt?
Speaker 1: Did you ever think you'd be doing I mean as
Speaker 1: a player, did you ever think when I'm done? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm going to get in front of the camera. I'm
Speaker 1: going to be a hell of an analyst for somebody.
Speaker 2: Now I it's fell into my lap. Actually at the
Speaker 2: time it was Fox Sports reached out to me after
Speaker 2: I retired and asked if I wanted to do it,
Speaker 2: and I thought, yeah, this is something that I should
Speaker 2: like to give a try. And I was happy. It
Speaker 2: was perfect for me because if you want, like coaching
Speaker 2: is something that I've been asked about, I want, is
Speaker 2: that something that you wish you had done or something
Speaker 2: that you wanted to pursue, And I said no, because
Speaker 2: it's a it's a huge commitment to coach, time wise,
Speaker 2: pure wise, and if I wanted to be a head coach,
Speaker 2: I'd end up having to move taking those steps to
Speaker 2: get to that point you got to. I'd have to
Speaker 2: end up moving coaching a couple of different teams at
Speaker 2: start an assistant coach, and maybe go around America League
Speaker 2: head coach. So, I mean, it was a process that
Speaker 2: I just didn't find appealing TV. I feel part of
Speaker 2: the game. It's exciting. I get to watch the games,
Speaker 2: and fortunately it's not my I'm not based on what
Speaker 2: was on the ice. So winning or losing. I don't
Speaker 2: have to deal with that pressure. I just have to
Speaker 2: deal with doing the best I can. And I love
Speaker 2: the sports, so I love being around the players, the excitement.
Speaker 2: So that's you know, being in television gives me that opportunity.
Speaker 1: Last thing before I let you go and weisha a
Speaker 1: happy weekend and a safe one. You have to watch
Speaker 1: games differently because you played at such a high level.
Speaker 1: You played with some of the greatest players of all
Speaker 1: team of all time, rather with Gretzky and them and
Speaker 1: Yagur and so on and so forth, we go on
Speaker 1: and on and on, and you were that too. How
Speaker 1: challenging is it for such a high level athlete in
Speaker 1: his sport, among the best the world has ever seen,
Speaker 1: to watch players and and and truly get impressed by
Speaker 1: how good they are.
Speaker 2: Now, well, it's it's I think in terms of that
Speaker 2: being impressed. I mean, I'm the same as probably anybody
Speaker 2: any fan that watches the game and just you know,
Speaker 2: you get a good player, you wow. I mean, they're
Speaker 2: they're incredible. I had the good fortune, you know, I
Speaker 2: played in Pittsburgh with with the Mary Lemue, which would
Speaker 2: fit in that category. I mean, just stuff that you
Speaker 2: know only he could do type of thing. And I
Speaker 2: was even you know, even playing in the in the
Speaker 2: National Hockey Tague and he kind of go WHOA. When
Speaker 2: you see see the things that he was able able
Speaker 2: to do out there on the ice, it's it's uh,
Speaker 2: it's it's amazing. It's no matter where you're coming from,
Speaker 2: it's just you're amazed at what you see. And you know,
Speaker 2: I'm amazed when you know, I at the Red Wings,
Speaker 2: I mean this time during the season, especially this past year,
Speaker 2: where I see Patrick Kine, I mean to talk about
Speaker 2: a guy that missedter impact. I mean, that's to me,
Speaker 2: that's the type of player. I always tried to be
Speaker 2: a guy that when the chips are on the line,
Speaker 2: that you come through. And I love seeing guys and
Speaker 2: then you know, you go sire, go lark, And I
Speaker 2: mean I can go down the list that during the
Speaker 2: season where guys step up and crunch time and produce.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's what I love. I find that that
Speaker 2: impresses me to the day. And that's what you tried
Speaker 2: to do if you wanted to be the guy as
Speaker 2: the expression goes, you know, when the games on the
Speaker 2: line can't give me the ball, you know, those are
Speaker 2: the guys that you just love to watch.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Raymond did that for them down the stretch.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 1: Well, let's hope that he and the Red Wings do
Speaker 1: it again this year. We'll be watching all season long.
Speaker 1: Very fortunate to have Larry Murphy breaking it down for
Speaker 1: us on Valley Sports Detroit, and very fortunate for him
Speaker 1: to join us here this morning. Murphy, thanks a lot. Man,
Speaker 1: really enjoyed it as always. You're such a good person,
Speaker 1: a great and you do a hell of a job
Speaker 1: on TV. Thanks for the Hall of Fame insight. Have
Speaker 1: a great weekend, my friend.
Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks Matt, you too. I enjoyed it.