Andrew Desjardins

Andrew Desjardins (born July 27, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played for the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks of the NHL.

Desjardins won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015. He is also notable for being one of only two players in NHL history to have worn the number 69, with the other being Mel Angelstad.

Playing career

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. 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.

On March 2, 2015, Desjardins was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for winger Ben Smith. 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. 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."

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). Desjardins was suspended two preseason games for an illegal check to the head of New Jersey Devils' forward Miles Wood. On October 10, Desjardins was released by the Rangers and signed a deal with German DEL side Adler Mannheim for the 2017–18 season on October 12.

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.

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2001–02 Onaping Falls Huskies U15 AAA NOHL U15 32 10 18 28 85 — — — — — 2001–02 Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats U18 AAA GNML — — — — — 1 0 1 1 — 2002–03 Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats U18 AAA GNML 36 21 35 56 151 3 1 2 3 20 2002–03 Espanola Screaming Eagles NOJHL 8 1 4 5 14 — — — — — 2003–04 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 55 3 6 9 41 — — — — — 2004–05 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 68 17 17 34 48 7 0 0 0 2 2005–06 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 66 12 16 28 78 4 2 5 7 18 2006–07 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 65 16 26 42 96 13 2 5 7 18 2007–08 Laredo Bucks CHL 64 22 37 59 112 11 2 4 6 21 2008–09 Phoenix RoadRunners ECHL 5 2 0 2 6 — — — — — 2008–09 Worcester Sharks AHL 74 8 14 22 99 12 4 2 6 13 2009–10 Worcester Sharks AHL 80 19 27 46 126 11 2 2 4 32 2010–11 Worcester Sharks AHL 58 12 17 29 69 — — — — — 2010–11 San Jose Sharks NHL 17 1 2 3 4 3 1 0 1 4 2011–12 San Jose Sharks NHL 76 4 13 17 47 5 1 0 1 2 2012–13 San Jose Sharks NHL 42 2 1 3 61 11 0 0 0 6 2013–14 San Jose Sharks NHL 81 3 14 17 86 7 0 2 2 31 2014–15 San Jose Sharks NHL 56 5 3 8 50 — — — — — 2014–15 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 13 0 2 2 7 21 1 3 4 4 2015–16 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 77 8 5 13 30 6 0 0 0 0 2016–17 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 46 0 1 1 22 — — — — — 2017–18 Adler Mannheim DEL 31 13 13 26 14 10 0 2 2 6 2018–19 Adler Mannheim DEL 51 15 28 43 22 13 9 5 14 14 2019–20 Adler Mannheim DEL 50 18 26 44 36 — — — — — 2020–21 Adler Mannheim DEL 8 0 2 2 10 6 1 1 2 4 2021–22 Adler Mannheim DEL 45 8 14 22 37 9 1 3 4 2 2022–23 EC VSV ICEHL 47 12 16 28 49 5 2 0 2 25 2023–24 EC VSV ICEHL 47 13 24 37 51 3 1 1 2 25 NHL totals 408 23 41 64 307 53 3 5 8 47 DEL totals 185 54 83 137 119 38 11 11 22 26

Awards and honours Award Year NHL Stanley Cup (Chicago Blackhawks) 2015 DEL Champion (Adler Mannheim) 2019