He was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the ninth round, 189th overall, of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. After playing three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Oshawa Generals, Murphy made his professional debut with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, in the 1987–88 season. In 1988–89, he joined the Flyers. After three-plus seasons in Philadelphia Murphy was traded, along with Brian Dobbin and a 1992 third-round draft choice, to the Boston Bruins for Garry Galley and Wes Walz in January of 1992.