[5] After his fourth season with the Coyotes, Murphy and Laurent Dauphin were traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Niklas Hjalmarsson on June 23, 2017.

[6] Murphy struggled in his first season under head coach Joel Quenneville, sitting as a healthy scratch for three of the Blackhawks first 12 games.

[9] Following his split from Seabrook, Murphy had trouble finding a permanent spot in the Blackhawks lineup and played alongside different defensive partners through the rest of the season.

[14] Murphy's return had a positive impact on the team and the two defencemen earned praise from the Blackhawk's coaching staff on their effectiveness.

[15] New head coach Jeremy Colliton described the two as "a huge benefit to our team" because they were playing a physical game and winning puck battles.

Through late February and early March, he was often paired with recently-acquired Nick Seeler or rookie Lucas Carlsson and saw an increase in ice time overall.

When the NHL began its return-to-play initiative in July 2020, both Murphy and Maatta were deemed “unfit” to play after participating in three practice sessions.

[27] Murphy and the Blackhawks beat the Oilers in four games[28] but were eventually eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round best-of-seven series.

[30] Shortly after the season began, Murphy tallied his 99th and 100th career NHL points with a goal and an assist in a 6–2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on January 24.

[32] At the conclusion of the season, Murphy was the Blackhawks nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy as a player who "best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice.

He grew up in the suburbs of Miami and Atlanta before his family settled in Dublin, Ohio, when his father was an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets.