Gordon J. Murphy (born February 23, 1967) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who played 14 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

and

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

. He is currently an assistant coach for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

Playing career

He was drafted by the

in the ninth round, 189th overall, of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. After playing three seasons in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

with the

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...

, Murphy made his professional debut with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

, 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

for

Garry Galley Garry Michael Galley (born April 16, 1963) is a Canadian broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 16 seasons from 1984 to 2001. Galley was a former co-host of the defunct "More On ...

and

Wes Walz Wes Walz (born May 15, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and coach. During his career, he was captain of the Minnesota Wild. He also played for the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, and Detroit Red Wings. ...

in January of

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. Murphy was selected by the

in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft, and he played there for six seasons. The Panthers traded him to another expansion team, the

, as part of a deal made in the

1999 NHL Expansion Draft The 1999 NHL expansion draft was an expansion draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 1999–2000 season, the Atlanta Thrashers. The draft took place on June 25, 1999, in Boston, M ...

in which the Panthers acquired

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

Trevor Kidd Trevor Rodney Kidd (born March 29, 1972) is a Canadian former Ice hockey goaltender who last played for the Hannover Scorpions in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Throughout his 12-year National Hockey League career, Kidd played for the Calgary Flame ...

. Murphy spent two seasons in Atlanta before joining the Bruins once again for the 2001–02 season. After one season in the Bruins organization, he officially retired on March 19, 2002. In his NHL career, Murphy played in 863 games. He scored 85 goals and added 238 assists. He also played in 53

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

playoff games, scoring three goals and recording 16 assists. He was a member of the 1996 Florida Panthers, who won the Eastern Conference before losing in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Coaching career

He worked as an assistant coach with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

from the

2002–03 NHL season The 2002–03 NHL season was the 86th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the New Jersey Devils, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. League business Entry draft ...

until he was fired as a part of an overall coaching change on June 16, 2010. After working for

as an assistant coach, Murphy was fired on November 8, 2013 along with head coach

Kevin Dineen Kevin William Dineen (born October 28, 1963) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. From 2021 to 2024, Dineen was the head coach of the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League (AHL). Dineen previously served as the hea ...

and assistant coach

Craig Ramsay Craig Edward Ramsay (born March 17, 1951) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played in the NHL from 1971 to 1985 for the Buffalo Sabres, notably featuring in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals with the Sabres. After his pla ...

. He was hired as an assistant coach by the Flyers on June 18, 2014. He was fired on November 28, 2018. On August 2, 2019, the New York Rangers announced the hiring of Murphy as an associate head coach with the Hartford WolfPack, the Rangers AHL affiliate.

Personal life

Murphy and his wife Nicole have two sons, Tyler and Connor and one daughter, Lexi. His son, Connor Murphy, was drafted 20th overall in the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL entry draft was the 49th entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the ...

by the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

and is a

for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

Awards

* Barry Ashbee Trophy (Philadelphia Flyers top defenceman): 1989–90 season

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Gord 1967 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Columbus Blue Jackets coaches Florida Panthers coaches Florida Panthers players Hershey Bears players Oshawa Generals players People from Willowdale, Toronto Philadelphia Flyers coaches Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Providence Bruins players Ice hockey people from North York 20th-century Canadian sportsmen