Murphy played parts of seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1987 and 1994 with the Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators, and Los Angeles Kings.
He followed that by stints with the Senators and Kings, going between the NHL and IHL and the American Hockey League (AHL) until moving to the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany in 1997, playing the last six years of his career there.
A tall centre with toughness and a decent scoring touch, Murphy was held in very high regard by Canucks management who felt he could be the team's answer to Joel Otto, the star defensive center for the rival Calgary Flames.
[11] Murphy began the 1988–89 season with Vancouver, one of three promising rookies to make the team, the others being Trevor Linden and Todd Harkins.
[12] Murphy registered his first NHL point, assisting on Brian Bradley's second period goal in a 6–5 win over the Edmonton Oilers on October 23, 1988.
[16] Diagnosed as a separated shoulder, he returned from the injury in late November and was assigned to Vancouver's affiliate in the International Hockey League (IHL), the Milwaukee Admirals, for two weeks for conditioning.
[19] After finishing the season with Drummondville, Murphy returned to Milwaukee for their playoff run, scoring in double overtime in their first game of their opening round series against the Kalamazoo Wings.
[21] Murphy won the Gary F. Longman Memorial Trophy as the IHL's Rookie of the Year after scoring 24 goals and 71 points in 64 games for the Admirals.
[24] In the next game against the New Jersey Devils on February 4, Murphy registered his first point of the season, assisting on Ronnie Stern's goal in the third period of the 4–2 victory.
[25] Murphy scored his first NHL goal on Peter Sidorkiewicz of the Hartford Whalers, the game winner, in the third period of a 4–1 victory on February 9.
[36] For the 1991–92 season, Murphy found himself back with Milwaukee, being made surplus to the Canucks' needs after they signed free agent Ryan Walter.
[4] Murphy was recalled by Vancouver on December 4 and made his season debut that night in a 3–0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
[38][39] He registered his only point of the NHL season assisting on Ryan Walter's opening goal in a 7–5 victory over the Minnesota North Stars on December 12.
[43] Murphy was selected by the Ottawa Senators as part of their draft strategy of picking young, talented players who had not succeeded with their original teams.
[46] He registered his first point with the Senators on November 11 assisting on Jody Hull's third period goal in a 7–3 loss to the Quebec Nordiques.
[47] He was assigned to Ottawa's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the New Haven Senators, on November 19[48] and was recalled on December 7 after a ten-game conditioning stint.
[54] Murphy set career highs by appearing in 44 games and recording 3 goals and 10 points,[4] but again could not establish himself as an NHL regular.
[59] He registered his first point with the Kings in the next game on October 27 assisting on Pat Conacher's first period goal in an 8–3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
[4] Murphy was made available in the 1995 IHL expansion draft and was selected by the Fort Wayne Komets with the tenth overall pick.
[4] Murphy moved to Germany in 1997, signing with SB Rosenheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) for one season, scoring 9 goals and 33 points in 44 games.
[68] After his playing career was over, Murphy was employed as a professional ice hockey scout beginning in 2007, working with the Arizona Coyotes and the Ottawa Senators.