Rob Murphy (ice hockey)

For other people named Rob Murphy, see Rob Murphy (disambiguation).

Rob Murphy
Born	(1969-04-07) April 7, 1969 Hull, Quebec, Canada
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Vancouver Canucks Ottawa Senators Los Angeles Kings
NHL Draft	24th overall, 1987 Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	1988–2003

Robert Murphy (born April 7, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. 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. Selected by the Canucks in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, Murphy turned professional in 1988 and spent the next five seasons playing for the Canucks and their minor International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate. He followed that by stints with the Senators and Kings, going between the NHL and IHL until moving to the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany in 1997, playing the last six years of his career there.

Playing career

Murphy played his junior hockey for the Laval Titan of the QMJHL, and was the top pick of the Vancouver Canucks (24th overall) in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. A strapping 6'3" center with toughness and a decent scoring touch, Murphy was held in very high regard by Canuck management who felt he could be the team's answer to Joel Otto, the star defensive center for the rival Calgary Flames. Murphy made his NHL debut at the age of just 18 in the 1987–88 campaign, appearing in 5 games for the Canucks, and appeared in 8 more contests the following year while still playing junior. In 1989, he was selected to represent Canada at the World Junior Championships, where the team finished 4th.

In 1989–90, Murphy was named the IHL Rookie of the Year after scoring 71 points in 64 games for the Milwaukee Admirals, and scored his first NHL goal in a 12-game stint in Vancouver. The following season, he appeared in 42 games for the Canucks, notching 5 goals and an assist for 6 points. However, by this point the club was becoming frustrated with his slow development. In 1991–92, Murphy found himself back in the minors full-time, appearing in only 6 games for Vancouver.

Exposed in the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft, Murphy was claimed by the Ottawa Senators. As a member of the inaugural Senators squad, he set career highs by appearing in 44 games and recording 10 points, but again could not establish himself as an NHL regular. Released by Ottawa, he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Kings, where he would play his final 8 NHL games in the 1993–94 season.

After leaving the Los Angeles organization, Murphy spent two seasons with the Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL before moving to Germany in 1997 to sign for SB Rosenheim of the DEL. He would spend six seasons in Germany, the last three with the Hannover Scorpions, before retiring in 2003.

In his career, Murphy appeared in 125 NHL games, recording 9 goals and 12 assists for 21 points, along with 152 penalty minutes.

After his playing career was over, Murphy was employed as a professional ice hockey scout beginning in 2007, and served as chief pro hockey scout for the Senators until April 2024.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1985–86	Outaouais Frontaliers	QMAAA		41	17	33	50	47		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Laval Titan	QMJHL		70	35	54	89	86		14	3	4	7	15
1987–88	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		5	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Laval Titan	QMJHL		26	11	25	36	82		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Drummondville Voltigeurs	QMJHL		33	16	28	44	41		17	4	15	19	45
1988–89	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		8	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Drummondville Voltigeurs	QMJHL		26	13	25	38	16		4	1	3	4	20
1988–89	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		8	4	2	6	4		11	3	5	8	34
1989–90	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		12	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		64	24	47	71	87		6	2	6	8	12
1990–91	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		42	5	1	6	90		4	0	0	0	2
1990–91	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		23	1	7	8	48		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		6	0	1	1	6		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		73	26	38	64	141		5	0	3	3	2
1992–93	Ottawa Senators	NHL		44	3	7	10	30		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	New Haven Senators	AHL		26	8	12	20	28		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		8	0	1	1	22		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Phoenix Roadrunners	IHL		72	23	34	57	101		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Phoenix Roadrunners	IHL		2	0	0	0	10		2	0	1	1	0
1995–96	Fort Wayne Komets	IHL		82	24	52	76	107		5	1	2	3	8
1996–97	Fort Wayne Komets	IHL		35	9	16	25	40		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Starbulls Rosenheim	DEL		44	9	24	33	68		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	EV Landshut	DEL		52	14	30	44	77		3	0	1	1	8
1999–00	Eisbären Berlin	DEL		46	8	18	26	89		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Hannover Scorpions	DEL		59	9	36	45	101		6	2	2	4	6
2001–02	Hannover Scorpions	DEL		60	11	26	37	40		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Hannover Scorpions	DEL		51	0	15	15	69		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Saint-Jean Mission	QSMHL		45	5	34	39	22		17	0	4	4	10
DEL totals				312	51	149	200	444		21	4	9	13	20
NHL totals				125	9	12	21	152		4	0	0	0	2

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1989	Canada	WJC		7	1	0	1	8
Junior totals				7	1	0	1	8

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database