Amateur
Desjardins grew up in Lively, Ontario, a small town located 20 km from the city of Sudbury. He played his minor hockey in his home town and eventually for the nearby Onaping Falls Huskies AAA until the bantam level in the 2001–02 season. After that year, he was selected in the 15th round, 295th overall, of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s 2002 Priority Selection by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He spent the following 2002–03 season playing for the Rayside-Balfour SabreCats Midget AAA of the Great North Midget League and also saw some time with the Espanola Screaming Eagles of the NOJHL before making the Greyhounds roster the following year.
Desjardins played four seasons (2003 to 2007) of junior hockey in the OHL with Sault Ste. Marie.
Professional
Despite being undrafted to the NHL, Desjardins turned professional for the 2007–08 season, suiting up for 64 regular season and 11 playoff games for the Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League (CHL). The following season, 2008–09, he played five games in the ECHL with the Phoenix RoadRunners and 74 regular season and 12 playoff games in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Worcester Sharks. In the 2009–10 season, he played the entire year with Worcester.
On June 26, 2010, the NHL's San Jose Sharks, the parent team of the Worcester Sharks, signed Desjardins as a free agent. [1] He originally wore number 69 with the Sharks, becoming the second player in NHL history behind Mel Angelstad to wear the number in a regular season game, though he later switched to number 10 following the departure of Christian Ehrhoff. [2]
On March 2, 2015, Desjardins was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for winger Ben Smith. [3] Desjardins switched his jersey number to 11 upon arrival with Chicago, as 10 was currently in use by Patrick Sharp. He would win the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks the same season. [4] Desjardins signed a two-year contract worth $1.6 million on July 3 to stay with Chicago. According to his agent, "[Desjardins] loved his time there," and "took less to stay." [5]
At the conclusion of his contract, Desjardins was not re-signed by the Blackhawks and became an unrestricted free agent. On September 13, 2017, it was announced Desjardins would attend the New York Rangers' training camp on a professional tryout agreement (PTO). [6] Desjardins was suspended two preseason games for an illegal check to the head of New Jersey Devils' forward Miles Wood. [7] On October 10, Desjardins was released by the Rangers [8] and signed a deal with German DEL side Adler Mannheim for the 2017–18 season on October 12. [9]
Desjardins would play five seasons with Mannheim before playing two more season with EC VSV of the ICEHL. He retired on July 10, 2024 to accept an assistant coaching job with the Sudbury Wolves. [10]
