His junior season concluded since his Kitchener Rangers team lost its second-round series with London in five games on Friday, Murphy, 20, will be available to Charlotte for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.
Murphy had already signed an entry-level NHL contract with Carolina shortly after the team chose him with its first-round pick in 2011. He would be the highest-drafted player to suit up for Charlotte in its three AHL seasons, edging new teammate Zach Boychuk (14th overall in 2008) by two spots and current Carolina Hurricane Jiri Tlusty (13th overall in 2006) by one.
Murphy made his NHL debut when the Hurricanes ran into injury trouble in February, going scoreless in four games.
With Charlotte dealing with a handful of injuries to its own blue line, Murphy (5-foot-11, 176 pounds) may be able to buck the trend of being cautious with players making the quick jump to the professional level. Brendon Nash, hurt in his first game with the team, is day-to-day, while Danny Biega and Michal Jordan are both out for an indefinite amount of time. Marc-Andre Gragnani, the best point-producer of the group prior to Murphy’s arrival, is out for the season.
Murphy, a member of the Canadian team at this past season's World Junior championship, becomes the seventh defenseman on Charlotte's current roster. The team reassigned Tommi Kivisto to ECHL Florida earlier Monday.
Murphy is the latest player to join the Checkers at the conclusion of his junior or college season, joining forwards Brock McGinn and Brendan Woods and Biega. More additions could be made a later date, with Hurricanes prospects like Victor Rask, who made his professional debut with Charlotte to start the season, still taking part in the playoffs.
