Florida Panthers Undrafted in any
NHL entry draft after four years of
college hockey at
Miami University, the under-sized defender was signed as a
free agent by the
Florida Panthers on March 30, 1998. Boyle was signed by Florida after being scouted by Bill Davich, a golf instructor for Miami University and part time scout for the Panthers saw him play; the Panthers were the only team to have interest in Boyle. He played the majority of his first two seasons in the Panthers'
farm system in the
American Hockey League (AHL), earning All-Rookie Team honours in
1999, as well as Second Team All-Star honours in 1999 and
2000. Boyle recorded 13 goals and 53 points in his first full season with the Lightning in
2002–03 before helping the team to the
2004 Stanley Cup championship. Due to the
2004–05 NHL lockout, Boyle went overseas to play for
Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish
Elitserien. As NHL play resumed the next season, Boyle continued to produce with a 15-goal, 53-point season in
2005–06. He recorded his first career NHL
hat-trick against the
New York Rangers on December 23, 2006, adding an assist for a four-point game in a 4–3 win. The following season, Boyle elevated his game to career-high numbers of 20 goals, 43 assists and 63 points, good enough for
Second team All-Star honours. Boyle suffered a major setback, however, in September 2007, injuring himself in a freak accident after a pre-season game when a skate slipped off a hook in his locker and hit him in the left wrist, severing three
tendons. Boyle underwent initial wrist surgery on September 23; he attempted to return on October 29, but after playing his first four games of the
2007–08 season, Boyle underwent additional surgery on the injured wrist, missing another 36 games. He did not make a full comeback until January 24, 2008, scoring two goals in his return, and soon thereafter was re-signed to a six-year, $40 million contract extension on February 25. He completed his injury-shortened campaign with 25 points in 37 games. Despite having signed a six-year extension with the Lightning in February, Tampa Bay looked to trade Boyle soon after and threatened to put him on
waivers, allowing any franchise to select Boyle for zero compensation to the team, if he did not waive his no-trade clause to accept a trade out of Tampa. Boyle was pressured to waive his
no-trade clause by Tampa Bay's new ownership, who said they would otherwise place him on waivers, where he would likely be claimed by the
Atlanta Thrashers. Already knowing
Joe Thornton,
Patrick Marleau and
Evgeni Nabokov, Boyle agreed to be traded to the Sharks. In his first season with the Sharks, Boyle tallied 16 goals and 57 points over 77 games, leading all team defencemen. The following season, on December 31, 2009, Boyle scored his 100th career NHL goal against the
Phoenix Coyotes in a 3–2 shootout win. He finished the campaign with 15 goals and 58 points. In the opening series of the
2010 playoffs, Boyle ended game three against the
Colorado Avalanche in overtime by inadvertently shooting the puck into his own net. Pressured by Avalanche forward
Ryan O'Reilly, Boyle attempted to ring the puck around the boards behind his net, but it was deflected by O'Reilly into the Sharks' net between Evgeni Nabokov's pad and the post, resulting in a 1–0 win for Colorado and 2–1 series lead. Nonetheless, the Sharks won the series 4–2, winning games 4, 5 and 6; Boyle had a point in all three games. In the first period of the October 15, 2013, against the
St. Louis Blues, Boyle was checked from behind by
Maxim Lapierre into the boards, injuring his jaw and knocking him unconscious; the incident led to a fight involving teammate
Matt Pelech and 17 minutes worth of penalties for
Andrew Desjardins. Boyle was taken off the ice via stretcher to a local hospital, and would miss the following game against the
Dallas Stars. He returned on November 2, in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes, scoring a goal in a shootout loss. After the conclusion of the
2013–14 season, Sharks general manager
Doug Wilson announced that pending free agent Boyle would not be returning to San Jose for the
2014–15 season. On June 5, the Sharks traded his rights to the
New York Islanders for a conditional
2015 fifth-round pick.
New York Rangers Unable to come to terms with the Islanders, Boyle opted to head to free agency, and on July 1, 2014, he signed a two-year contract with the
New York Rangers. Boyle's time with the Rangers is often remembered by a notable verbal altercation he had with Rangers reporter
Larry Brooks when Boyle refused to conduct an interview with Brooks in the locker room on April 26, 2016. Unsigned for the entire 2016 offseason, on October 5, 2016, Boyle announced his retirement from the NHL. Boyle scored 164 goals and 605 points over 1,093 NHL games with four teams. In his retirement statement Boyle said, "I've been fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunity to do what I most love to do. All I wanted to do as a young boy was have the opportunity to play ONE game in the NHL. Over a thousand games later, this whole experience seems surreal. I want to thank all four organizations for the opportunity, my teammates and the FANS for this amazing run that I will cherish forever." Boyle stated that he will live in the San Jose area with his family. ==International play==