Stuart was drafted in the NHL by the Atlanta Thrashers with the 135th pick in the
2001 NHL entry draft from
Colorado College. He joined the Thrashers organization in 2004 and was assigned to the
American Hockey League's
Chicago Wolves as well as playing five games for the
ECHL's
Gwinnett Gladiators. After two more seasons with the Wolves, Stuart made his NHL debut during the
2007–08 NHL season, playing 18 games and scoring 3 goals. He returned to the Wolves shortly afterwards and won the
Calder Cup. On July 1, 2009, Stuart was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with
Garnet Exelby for
Pavel Kubina and the rights to
Tim Stapleton. He was then shipped to the Calgary Flames on July 27, 2009, in the trade that brought
Wayne Primeau to Toronto. On July 7, 2011, Stuart re-signed with the
Buffalo Sabres on a one-year contract. On September 18, 2012, Stuart left North America as a free agent to sign with the
Iserlohn Roosters in the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga for one-year. During the
2012–13 season, Stuart established himself amongst the Roosters leadership group, and contributed with 21 points in 45 games. On July 25, 2013, Stuart opted to return to the NHL and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the
Vancouver Canucks. He was assigned to AHL inaugural affiliate, the
Utica Comets, for the
2013–14 season, scoring 25 points in 54 games. Stuart opted to continue his European career in the off-season, in signing a one-year deal with the
Malmö Redhawks of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan on August 14, 2014. Mid-season, Stuart opted to leave Sweden and return to North America, signing in the AHL with the Providence Bruins. On August 30, 2015, Stuart announced the end of his professional career after 11 seasons. == Career statistics ==