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Murphy a man without a home |
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He was the first player chosen in his draft year.
He won the Stanley Cup.
At one point, Joe Murphy appeared to have it all going for him.
Today, Murphy is home free, and that right there is the crux of his problem. Taken first overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1986 NHL entry draft, Murphy currently lives in a tent in a farmer’s field in Kenora, Ont.
He is homeless.
Murphy, who it is estimated earned $15 million as an NHLer from 1986-2001 and won the Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers in 1989-90, has lost it all.
He is of no fixed address. He has no e-mail address. Murphy has no online presence whatsoever.
“My address is Kenora,” Murphy told Drydennow.com.
Murphy works odd jobs as a day laborer and landscaper when he needs money, and blames his situation on the effects of post-concussion syndrome.
He was among the litany of NHLers - more than 80 - who recently saw their class-action lawsuit against the league over the long-term impact of concussions denied by a Federal judge in a Minnesota court.
“It's a very serious matter, concussions,” Murphy said. “I’ve suffered a horrific, serious concussion that debilitated me for a long time. It was tough.”
Murphy recounted how he’d be affected by an on-ice collision in the later years of his career.
“After I was getting hit, fireflies around me all the time,” Murph told Drydennow.com. “Just everywhere. Even at the end of my career, I’d hit a guy and then ‘Boom.’ There'd be those sparkly things all over. Very difficult.”
It’s also believed that Murphy’s concussion symptoms may be exacerbated by mental health issues. Many hockey people offered up tales of Murphy’s odd behavior, everything from a verbal tirade directed at Pat Burns, his coach with the Boston Bruins, to a dressing-room scrap in which a teammate wound up choking him.
One of Murphy’s former coaches recalled seeing Murphy squatting behind the boards late in an game.
“What are you doing?” the coach asked Murphy.
“The helicopters,” Murphy answered. “The helicopters are coming.”
In 2017, Murphy was found guilty of mischief and fined $500 after trashing a hotel room in Kingston, Ont.
He doesn’t dispute the notion that something is amiss with his brain.
“Have you ever seen a banana?” Murphy said. “As it’s off the tree limb and it gets bruising?
“I think I’ve got definite bruising.”
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