Don Murdoch
| Don Murdoch | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
October 25, 1956 Cranbrook, BC, CAN |
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| Height | 6 ft 02 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
New York Rangers Edmonton Oilers Detroit Red Wings |
||
| NHL Draft | 6th overall, 1976 New York Rangers |
||
| WHA Draft | 12th overall, 1976 Cincinnati Stingers |
||
| Playing career | 1976–1986 | ||
Donald Walter Murdoch (born October 25, 1956 in Cranbrook, British Columbia) is a Canadian retired former professional ice hockey player. After a standout junior career with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Murdoch made the New York Rangers as a 20-year-old and had an impressive rookie season, scoring 56 points in 59 games his rookie season, including a Rangers rookie record of 32 goals. On October 12, 1976, Murdoch tied Howie Meeker's record for most goals in one game by a rookie with 5, against the Minnesota North Stars. A torn Achilles tendon ended his season in February.
In the offseason in 1977 after his first season, Murdoch was caught by customs agents in Toronto with 4.5 grams of cocaine stashed in his socks. He was suspended by the league for the entire 1978-79 season (later reduced to 40 games) and later admitted to having a drinking and drug problem.
As a New York Ranger in the 1980-1981 season, he would set a club record for most single-season game-winning goals in a season (9), which would later be tied by Mark Messier (1996–97) and Jaromír Jágr (2005-06).
He played 320 career games in the National Hockey League (NHL) but never regained the form of his first season, and retired after stops with the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings.
After his playing career, Murdoch worked as a scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning, under general manager Phil Esposito.
He is a distant cousin of former Ranger Murray Murdoch.
In the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons, 2009) by Russ Cohen, John Halligan and Adam Raider, the authors ranked Murdoch No. 99 on the all-time list of New York Rangers.
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