Joe Murphy had it all. In 1986, he became the first college-educated hockey player selected first overall in the NHL entry draft. He won a Stanley Cup in Edmonton alongside Mark Messier four years later. One vicious body check during a game changed his life forever. Despite being shaken by the hit, Murphy was cleared to return to the game. Soon after, his entire life seemed to change. Murphy became a journeyman, moving from team to team. Along the way, other NHLers said they noticed something different about him too. Murphy wasn’t acting like himself. He was using drugs and alcohol and soon found himself out of the NHL entirely. Eventually, Murphy became homeless. The player who had once set the NHL aflame now slept by the side of the road in the unforgiving North.
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