Murphy, 24, tallied two assists in 27 games with the Carolina Hurricanes and one assist in seven contests with the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League (AHL) last season. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound native of Aurora, Ontario, was placed on waivers by Calgary on June 30, one day after being acquired by the Flames along with Eddie Lack and a seventh-round selection in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Keegan Kanzig and sixth-round selection in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He owns 37 points (6-31=37) in 151 career NHL games during five seasons with Carolina (2012-17) and has collected 66 points (10-56=66) in 89 career AHL contests with Charlotte. Murphy tallied 220 points (53-167=220) and 122 penalty minutes (PIM) in 228 games during four seasons (2009-13) with the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and was named to the OHL All-Rookie Team in 2010, the OHL First All-Star Team in 2011 and the OHL Second All-Star Team in 2012 and 2013.

The right-shot defenseman was originally selected by Carolina in the first round (12th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.