Jonny Murray was born on August 10, 1974 in Beauport, Quebec.[2] He was raised in a francophone family and joined the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League as an on-ice official at the age of 17. After working half a season in the QMJHL, Murray decided that he wanted to become an NHL official and spent the following summer in Calgary, Alberta, to improve his English.[3]
Murray continued his Major Junior career and officiated in the American Hockey League before being hired by the NHL in 2000.[3]
Murray worked his 1,000th game on December 29, 2016 between the Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center. He requested for referees Eric Furlatt and Marc Joannette, and linesman Pierre Racicot to work the game with him. Furlatt and Joannette were hired as NHL officials around the same time as Murray, and the four had become close friends.[5][3]
Murray relocated to Tampa, Florida, at the end of the 2000–01 NHL season. He moved to Fort Lauderdale in 2013. He has two children who were raised in Quebec City, and requested for two Montreal Canadiens home games every season so he could visit them. They attended their father’s 1,000th game in Sunrise.[3]