Stempniak grew up in West Seneca, New York, where his family lived near an ice rink. He mixed his desire to play hockey with his parents' urgings to go to college by attending Dartmouth, and after scoring 21 goals as a sophomore, he was selected in the fifth round (No. 148) in the 2003 NHL Draft.

The Blues signed Stempniak after his senior season, and he quickly earned a call-up to St. Louis in 2005-06, finishing with 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 57 games. He put up NHL career-highs of 27 goals and 52 points the following season, playing on a line with David Backes and Jay McClement.

Little did Stempniak know that he was about to become one of the most well-traveled players in NHL history. St. Louis traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 24, 2008. The Maple Leafs traded him to the Phoenix Coyotes on March 3, 2010 - and he promptly earned NHL Player of the Month honors by scoring 13 goals in 13 games. Stempniak had 19 goals and 38 points for the Coyotes in 2010-11, then spent most of the next three seasons with the Calgary Flames before making short stops with five more teams from 2014-16.

The Carolina Hurricanes signed Stempniak to a two-year contract on July 1, 2016, and he finished with 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in his first season despite playing up and down the lineup. His final goal of the season came on April 4, 2017, and was the 200th of his NHL career.