Reaching the pinnacle of global hockey can come in many forms. For Dover, N.H., native Brian Murphy, dream becoming reality has come via a whistle and striped jersey rather than a stick in his hands. On March 16 when the Boston Bruins hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden, Murphy became just the eighth person — and second American — in NHL history to officiate 2,000 regular-season games.
A linesman for all but 88 of those 2,000 games, Murphy has worked nine Stanley Cup Finals, one Olympics and one All-Star Game. He first gained traction at the 1986 Olympic Festival in Houston, earning an invite to an NHL officials training camp, and was hired part time by the NHL in 1988 before becoming full time in 1990. His debut, Oct. 7, 2018, came in a Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals tilt with one of the games’ legend in the spotlight.
Billy Jaffe: So, 1988, you are on the ice for your first NHL game. What’s the thing that you remember most about that game?
Brian Murphy: I remember Mario Lemieux played. I remember most, and it’s a small token of appreciation, but, the officials who worked the game with me, and the off-ice officials, gave me a plaque after the game with the original puck that started the game. It’s a tradition that I have actually followed on, that every time I have worked a first game with an official in this league, whether it’s their first regular-season game or first playoff game, I always get a plaque made up for them, and I get that puck, and I get that puck put on by the equipment guys. Because it’s sitting on my wall, and it’s a great memory. You forget a lot of things about that night, but the one thing that I have is that puck. You work so many years to get to that level, and to actually achieve that accomplishment, it’s overwhelming, really.
Jaffe: Do you remember the call to get your first NHL assignment?
Murphy: When I got hired, Wes McCauley’s dad, John, was the boss at the time. Back then there were no cell phones, and they were trying to call me all day trying to get a hold of me. I finally talked to John at about 10 o’clock at night, and I remember telling my mom and dad that I just got off the phone with John McCauley and I was going to work for the National Hockey League. It was just an unbelievable feeling.
Jaffe: I heard the story that you got into refereeing because you were working at a rink, driving a Zamboni, you realized the referees made more money for you. Did you enjoy it, when you did it at first, though?
Murphy: Yeah. Officiating is something you have to have a passion for. I enjoyed it because it was a way of staying involved in the game. I enjoyed the challenge because, as I tell people, every game is different, every game’s unique. You go to a hockey game, you never know what’s going to happen. Unlike going to some other jobs where they become routine and you’re doing the exact same thing every day, officiating is a job where you don’t know what’s going to happen and there’s that challenge of being successful. Not being perfect, because no one is, but it’s the challenge of going out there and doing a good job and being successful. I enjoy that challenge.
Jaffe: So officiating is pretty much like being a husband (laughs) — not every day is perfect, I tell my wife, but I try to get to that level.
Murphy: Someone asked me the other day what 2,000 games meant to me. A friend of me said to me, “It just means you made a lot of mistakes.” In a lot of ways that’s so true. As I tell kids who are trying to get into officiating, you’re going out there not to be perfect. You’re going out there to try to be good.
Jaffe: What are some of the big other things you tell young officials who want to make it — forget the NHL — just at any level. What are a few key things?
Murphy: I have this line that I have to credit Dennis Leroux — he’s a longtime referee in the NHL, American born. Dennis had this line, “Trust what you see.” Basically, that’s all you have to know. When I feel like I’m working well and working confidently, I trust what I see, and I react to that. That is such a key thing, because when you start second guessing yourself or you start thinking other things, or you deny things that happened, that’s when you make mistakes. The only thing you have to know in officiating is trust what you see.
Jaffe: Going on your 2,000th regular-season game — you’ve actually worked more than that because of your playoff games as well — do you still get butterflies when you head out?
Murphy: Every game. I get asked that a lot. It’s a good question, because I believe you’re successful when you are nervous. If you’re not nervous, then I don’t think you’re ready for the game, and if you are too nervous, you’re not going to be successful, either, because you’re going to make mistakes. There’s that fine zone of finding where you are engaged in the game, you’re working hard, and having a few butterflies, there’s nothing wrong with that. I think when that feeling ends, it’s the day I should leave.
Jaffe: Over the course of your career, which one player has absolutely impressed the heck out of you? On the flip side, which player was the biggest pain?
Murphy: Because of being a linesman and dong so many faceoffs, I feel like I have a special relationship with a lot of the centermen. What’s interesting is I got hurt the other night in a game and every centerman came up to me and wanted to make sure I was OK. We have that relationship. It’s the same thing with a lot of the captains and assistant captains. I’m getting stitched up in the locker room in Anaheim and the captain and the assistant captain came in the room to check on me. It’s that type of relationship I believe that is so important. It’s what I enjoy about the game. I have been able to accomplish those relationships, and that’s the part of the game that I treasure. No one particular player is necessarily any different for me. Every game I find that I have some games I just have good relationships with. Players that are successful realize that that’s part of the game and they are successful because they are able to talk to us, and it’s part of the game rather than an adversarial relationship where you’re just not getting along.
I don’t think there are any players that I ever really disliked. But there are certainly some nights where a few of them have gotten me a little upset, that’s for sure.
Jaffe: And how about dealing with coaches? What did you learn about dealing with coaches, from the time you began until were you are now?
Murphy: The important thing is, don’t go over and look to talk to them unless they want to talk to you. If they have a question, you have to give them an answer. You have to be honest, and you have to have some humility. If you’ve made a mistake or you know you’ve made a mistake — maybe we have the ability to see a replay so you know — but you have to have some humility. The key thing is, and I teach this a lot in officiating camps, that you have to listen. A lot of times, these guys (coaches) just want to vent. They might not necessarily be venting at you, and, especially a linesman, they’re probably venting about the referee. But a lot of times these guys just want to vent and they just want to get it off their chest then let it go. A lot of times I never even have to say a word. It’s just a lot of listening. There have been times where I’ve gone over and I’m getting ready to apologize for a mistake and the coach says to me, “You made a great call, Murph.” You get to know coaches, and how they talk to you, obviously, some coaches are better than others.
Jaffe: Lastly, you get the opportunity to pick your crew that you get for this game — some people who all have importance to you. Let’s start with your fellow linesmen, why you picked everybody.
Murphy: Tim Nowak came to a summer camp in the early ‘90s. I’ve done a lot of work with USA Hockey officiating development. He came to a summer camp in 1990 and this kid, he just worked harder than everybody else. That’s why he’s here, and that’s why he’s had such a successful career. He just works hard. He does what he has to do and is just a grinder. That’s what makes him successful. The referees — Chris Rooney (South Boston, Mass.), same thing, he came to us for a summer camp, and I told him he was probably a little too cocky, maybe to develop a little humility. The bottom line is, as his career has evolved, I’ve actually learned from him that maybe I had to have a little more confidence. When I was struggling one year in the playoffs, I actually watched him and fed off of him and the confidence that he had, and realized I had to bring that confidence to the game. And Wes McCauley, his dad hired me. I tell my kids all the time that you just have to have somebody in life that believes in you and gives you an opportunity. And John McCauley at the time was the boss, and a gentleman at USA Hockey named Mark Rudolph was involved in the officiating. Those people believed in me and they gave me an opportunity. That’s why I’m here.
