(Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)
After the Dallas Stars missed the Playoffs in 2015, the team signed veteran defenseman Johnny Oduya on a two-year, $7.5 million deal in July 2015. The Stars were the Stockholm native’s fourth team he’s been a member of.
In the middle of his fourth season with the New Jersey Devils in February 2010, Oduya was traded to the then Atlanta Thrashers in part of the Ilya Kovalchuk trade. After the 2010-11 season, the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg as the NHL brought back the Jets.
In late February 2012, Oduya was traded again this time to the Chicago Blackhawks. After the Blackhawks were eliminated in the first round by the Coyotes, Oduya and the Blackhawks went to three consecutive Western Conference Finals and won two Stanley Cups in 2013 and 2015.
(Nam Y. Huh/The Associated Press)
Despite winning the Cup in 2015, Oduya left Chicago to head to Dallas at 33 years old. In his first season in Dallas, Oduya recorded 21 points (4G, 17A) and played all 82 regular season games. 2015-16 was the first season in which Oduya scored over 20 points since 2008-09 (7G, 22A). The Stars won the Central Division with a 50-23-9 record with 109 points.
In the 2016 Playoffs, Oduya played all 13 games. Oduya scored one goal in the Playoffs in Game 5 of the first round against the Minnesota Wild. Oduya and the Stars eliminated the Wild in six games.
The Stars would face the St. Louis Blues in the second round. The Stars forced a Game 7 back in Dallas after winning Game 6 in St. Louis 3-2. In Game 7, the Stars fell 6-1. Oduya recorded an assist on Patrick Eaves’ goal to make it 5-1 in the third period.
In the 2016-17 season, the Stars and Oduya disappointed. Oduya played in 37 games and recorded 7 points (1G, 6A). In late February 2017, Oduya was traded to the Blackhawks in exchange for Mark McNeill and a 2018 conditional fourth-round pick. The Stars missed the Playoffs in 2017.
(Glenn James/National Hockey League/Getty Images)
McNeill would go on to play just one game for the Stars after the trade and played just two games in his NHL career with no points.
In 119 games played in his Stars tenure, Oduya finished with 28 points (5G, 23A) and a +6 rating.
Oduya went back to the Playoffs with the Blackhawks in 2017, but were swept in the first round by the eventual Western Conference champion Nashville Predators.
In the Summer of 2017, Oduya signed a one-year deal with the Ottawa Senators. The Senators lost Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. As the Senators struggled, they placed Oduya on waivers as he recorded 8 points (4G, 4A) in 51 games played.
The Philadelphia Flyers claimed Oduya off waivers for the team’s Playoff push, but Oduya played just one game with the Flyers. After the 2017-18 season, Oduya retired. In his career, Oduya played in 850 games, scored 41 goals and recorded 141 assists for 190 career points and finished with a +63 rating.
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