Early career Oduya's first club was
Hammarby IF, where he played as a junior. In 2000, at the age of 19, he moved to North America to play in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He spent one season in North America, splitting time between the
Victoriaville Tigres and
Moncton Wildcats. After moving back to Sweden, he played two seasons with Hammarby in
HockeyAllsvenskan before signing a contract with
Djurgårdens IF in the Swedish
Elitserien. During the two seasons he spent with the team, he was known as an aggressive defenceman and an enforcer. At times, he fought with opposition players and registered high penalties in minutes numbers. Despite this, he was also a dependable player and played regularly in the
Swedish national team during the
Euro Hockey Tour. In the 2005–06 season, after he had been dismissed by the
Washington Capitals, the NHL organization that drafted him 221st overall in
2001, he moved to another Swedish team,
Frölunda HC. With Frölunda, he played as a more offensive defenceman, scoring eight goals and 11 assists. in
2012 New Jersey Devils The following season,
2006–07, Oduya signed with the
New Jersey Devils in the NHL. Although expected by many to be a depth player with the Devils, when several of the team's defenders were injured, Oduya earned a spot in the lineup. He played surprisingly well in the NHL, periodically registering nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game. He played in 76 Devils games that season, only missing eight due to a mid-season injury. However, in the
2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, he was not dressed for New Jersey when the Devils were defeated in the second round, largely due to the impressive play of rookie defenceman
Andy Greene. After several successful NHL seasons, Oduya was named to the Swedish roster for the
2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets Stanley Cup championship parade On 4 February 2010, he was traded to the
Atlanta Thrashers, along with
Niclas Bergfors,
Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick in
2010, in exchange for
Ilya Kovalchuk and
Anssi Salmela. Oduya skated for the team during its inaugural season after moving to
Winnipeg, Manitoba to become the
Winnipeg Jets.
Chicago Blackhawks On 27 February 2012, Oduya was traded to the
Chicago Blackhawks for a second- and third-round pick in
2013. In October 2012, during the
2012–13 NHL lockout, Oduya traveled to
Bangkok,
Thailand, to play for the local Flying Farangs team in the 18th Annual "Land of Smiles" Hockey tournament. He carried his team to the championship against Abu-Dhabi, and helped bring home Bangkok's first title in tournament history. In June 2013, Oduya won his first
Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, who defeated the
Boston Bruins in six games in the
Finals. In Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Oduya assisted on the Cup winning goal scored by
Dave Bolland. Oduya's shot came from the left point and deflected off the stick of
Michael Frolík. Bolland, in position in front of the Boston goal, pushed the deflected shot past Bruins goaltender
Tuukka Rask to give the Blackhawks their second Stanley Cup in four years. On 15 June 2015, at the United Center in Chicago, Oduya won his second Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks over the
Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. It was the Blackhawks' third Stanley Cup in six years. He ended the
2015 playoffs goalless wirh five assists and points in all 23 games. After the series ended, it was revealed that Oduya had suffered an elbow tear as a result from getting tripped by Lightning’ forward
Nikita Kucherov.
Dallas Stars After four seasons with the Blackhawks, Oduya left as a free agent and signed a two-year contract with the
Dallas Stars on 15 July 2015. Blackhawks teammate
Patrick Sharp also joined the Stars a few weeks earlier via trade.
Later years: Second stint in Chicago, Ottawa and Philadelphia In the final year of his contract with the Stars in the
2016–17 season, Oduya was traded back to Chicago in exchange for
Mark McNeill and a conditional fourth-round draft pick on 28 February 2017. He played out the season with the Blackhawks appearing in 15 regular season games for 1 goal and 1 assist. As a free agent, having left the Blackhawks for a second time, Oduya agreed to a one-year bonus-ladened contract with the
Ottawa Senators on 24 July 2017. After being placed on waivers by the Senators, Oduya was claimed by the
Philadelphia Flyers on 26 February 2018. After playing in only one game as a Flyer on 4 March, he was pulled out of the lineup with a lower body injury on 10 March. He did not play another game with the Flyers before his contract expired. ==Personal life==