Murphy, 28, has played parts of the last two seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League, beginning the 2020-21 season with Dinamo Minsk before returning to North America with the American Hockey League's Henderson Silver Knights. Murphy produced eight points (2-6-8) in 12 games with Minsk for a two-year KHL total of 31 points (10-21-31) and 28 penalty minutes in 68 games between Minsk and Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. With Henderson, Murphy won the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL's best defenseman, finishing third on the team and first among the league's defensemen with 27 points (5-22-27) in 37 games. Originally a first-round pick (12th overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Murphy has played parts of seven seasons in the NHL, notching 43 points (8-35-43) and 54 penalty minutes in 175 games between the Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils between 2012-19. His most productive year came in the 2014-15 campaign, in which he totaled 13 points (4-9-13) in 37 games with Carolina.
A native of Aurora, Ontario, Murphy has also skated in 232 career AHL games with the Charlotte Checkers, Iowa Wild, Binghamton Devils and Silver Knights between 2012-21, posting 146 points (22-124-146) and 122 penalty minutes. He was also an AHL All-Star in 2015 with Charlotte. Prior to turning pro, the 5-foot-11, 181-pound blueliner spent four seasons with the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers, racking up 220 points (53-167-220), a plus-47 rating and 122 penalty minutes in 228 games from 2009-13, while adding 57 points (12-45-57) and 44 penalty minutes in 53 postseason games. Murphy was a two-time OHL Second-Team All-Star (2012 and 2013) and a 2011 OHL First-Team All-Star. Internationally, Murphy skated in six games for Canada at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, notching three points, and was named the Best Defenseman at the 2011 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, posting 13 points (4-9-13) in seven games.
