Playing career
Ward was drafted 11th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He played 186 career NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings, scoring 20 goals and 28 assists for 48 points. When he was traded to the Kings, the deal sent agitator Sean Avery to the Rangers providing them boost for a playoff push. [1] On February 27, 2007, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, making the third time he was traded during the 2006–07 season. He scored his first Lightning goal in his debut with the team.
After completing the 2009–10 season in the American Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers affiliate Adirondack Phantoms, Ward was unable to garner a new NHL contract for the following 2010–11 season. In order to maintain game shape, Ward voluntarily took on a position as an assistant coach for the major junior team Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League while on the lookout for a new contract. On November 15, 2010, Ward signed a one-year contract and played his last professional season with Austrian team EHC Black Wings Linz of the EBEL. [2]
Ward has the distinction of scoring his first NHL goal, in his first NHL game, on his first NHL shot, all three milestones coming at Madison Square Garden against Mike Richter and the New York Rangers on December 3, 1999. [3]
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