Stempniak grew up in West Seneca, New York, where his family lived near an ice rink. He mixed his desire to play hockey with his parents' urgings to go to college by attending Dartmouth, and after scoring 21 goals as a sophomore, he was selected in the fifth round (No. 148) in the 2003 NHL Draft.

The Blues signed Stempniak after his senior season, and he quickly earned a call-up to St. Louis in 2005-06, finishing with 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 57 games. He put up NHL career-highs of 27 goals and 52 points the following season, playing on a line with David Backes and Jay McClement.

Little did Stempniak know that he was about to become one of the most well-traveled players in NHL history. St. Louis traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 24, 2008. The Maple Leafs traded him to the Phoenix Coyotes on March 3, 2010 - and he promptly earned NHL Player of the Month honors by scoring 13 goals in 13 games. Stempniak had 19 goals and 38 points for the Coyotes in 2010-11, then spent most of the next three seasons with the Calgary Flames before making short stops with five more teams from 2014-16.

The Carolina Hurricanes signed Stempniak to a two-year contract on July 1, 2016, and he finished with 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in his first season despite playing up and down the lineup. His final goal of the season came on April 4, 2017, and was the 200th of his NHL career.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• ECAC All-Rookie Team (2002)
• ECAC First All-Star Team (2004, 2005)
• NCAA East First All-American Team (2004)
• NCAA East Second All-American Team (2005)
• Traded to Toronto by St. Louis for Alexander Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo, November 24, 2008.
• Traded to Phoenix by Toronto for Matt Jones and Phoenix's 4th (later traded to Washington -- Washington selected Philipp Grubauer) and 7th (later traded to Edmonton -- Edmonton selected Kellen Jones) round picks in 2010 NHL Draft, March 3, 2010.
• Traded to Calgary by Phoenix for Daymond Langkow, August 29, 2011.
• Traded to Pittsburgh by Calgary for Pittsburgh's 3rd round pick (later traded to Chicago -- Chicago selected Matt Iacopelli) in 2014 NHL Draft, March 5, 2014.
• Signed as a free agent by NY Rangers, July 19, 2014.
• Traded to Winnipeg by NY Rangers for Carl Klingberg, March 1, 2015.
• Signed as a free agent by New Jersey, October 3, 2015.
• Traded to Boston by New Jersey for Boston's 4th round pick (Evan Cormier) in 2016 NHL Draft and Boston's 2nd round pick (later traded to San Jose -- San Jose selected Mario Ferraro) in 2017 NHL Draft, February 29, 2016.
• Signed as a free agent by Carolina, July 1, 2016.