A strong skater and two-time Stanley Cup champion whose infectious attitude has made him a favorite among teammates wherever he's played, Oduya is an instinctive defenseman who plays mostly a stay-at-home role.
In the 2008-09 season, Oduya blocked 127 shots for the New Jersey Devils, who signed him primarily as a depth player in 2006-07 and watched as he worked his way into a regular top-six role.
A strong skater and two-time Stanley Cup champion whose infectious attitude has made him a favorite among teammates wherever he's played, Oduya is an instinctive defenseman who plays mostly a stay-at-home role.
In the 2008-09 season, Oduya blocked 127 shots for the New Jersey Devils, who signed him primarily as a depth player in 2006-07 and watched as he worked his way into a regular top-six role.
Selected by the Washington Capitals in the seventh round (No. 221) in the 2001 NHL Draft but let go five years later, Oduya played an average of 78 games per season with the Devils, who traded him to the Atlanta Thrashers on Feb. 4, 2010.
Oduya spent the remainder of 2009-10 and all of the 2010-11 seasons with Atlanta and made the move to Winnipeg with the team in 2011 before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 27, 2012.
The Jets received a second- and third-round draft pick in 2013 in that deal, but with Oduya in their lineup, the Blackhawks won Stanley Cups in 2013 and 2015.
Oduya played 23 postseason games during each of those Cup runs and averaged 22:45 of ice time per game in the first and 24:45 in the second.
Oduya finished the 2013 playoffs with a team-best plus-12 rating and also ranked second among Blackhawks defensemen in scoring with eight points (three goals).
One of those points came on the Cup-clinching goal as it was Oduya's shot from the point that started the play in which Dave Bolland shoved a rebound behind Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask for the Game 6 winner.
Following the Blackhawks run to the 2015 Stanley Cup, Oduya signed with the Dallas Stars, where he scored 21 points in 82 games to help the Stars reach the 2016 playoffs.
Born of Swedish descent on his mother's side and Kenyan descent on his father's, Oduya played for Sweden during the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal in 2014.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Signed as a free agent by New Jersey, July 24, 2006.
- Traded to Atlanta by New Jersey with Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier and New Jersey's 1st (later traded to Chicago - Chicago selected Kevin Hayes) and 2nd (later traded to Chicago - Chicago selected Justin Holl) round picks in 2010 NHL Draft for Ilya Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela and Atlanta's 2nd round pick (Jonathon Merrill) in 2010 NHL Draft, February 4, 2010.
- Transferred to Winnipeg after Atlanta franchise relocated, June 21, 2011.
- Signed as a free agent by Flying Farangs Bangkok (Thailand), October 31, 2012.
- Traded to Chicago by Winnipeg for Chicago's 2nd (later traded to Washington -- Washington selected Zachary Sanford) and 3rd (J.C. Lipon) round picks in 2013 NHL Draft, February 27, 2012.
- Signed as a free agent by Dallas, July 15, 2015.
- Traded to Chicago by Dallas for Mark McNeill and Dallas' 4th round pck in 2018 NHL Draft, February 28, 2017.
- Signed as a free agent by Ottawa, July 24, 2017.
- Claimed on waivers by Philadelphia from Ottawa, February 26, 2018.