O'Donnell, a defenseman most at home trying to keep the space in front of his goalie clear, was one of the first captains of the Minnesota Wild and a Stanley Cup winner with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 during an NHL career that spanned 17 seasons and saw him play with eight teams.

The Buffalo Sabres selected O'Donnell, an Ottawa native, in the sixth round (No. 123) of the 1991 NHL Draft. He never played for Buffalo, was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on July 26, 1994, and made his NHL debut against the Dallas Stars on Jan. 24, 1995.

O'Donnell settled in as a defensive defenseman with the Kings for six seasons until he was selected by the Wild in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft. He was part of the rotating group of captains in the Wild's first season, then was traded to the New Jersey Devils on March 4, 2001, and signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent on July 2, 2001.

His biggest offensive season came in 2001-02 when he finished with 25 points (three goals, 22 assists) and a plus-27 rating in 80 games. But after three seasons with the Bruins, O'Donnell was on the move again; he signed with the Phoenix Coyotes as a free agent on July 6, 2004, then was traded to Anaheim on March 9, 2006.

O'Donnell became a Stanley Cup winner in 2007 when the Ducks won their first NHL championship. He played in all 21 games during the run to the Cup, scoring two assists.

After spending the 2007-08 season with the Ducks, O'Donnell rejoined the Kings for the 2008-09 season. He played two seasons with the Kings and one each for the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks before retiring with 229 points (31 goals, 198 assists) in 1,224 NHL games and 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 106 Stanley Cup Playoff games.