Awarded Rookie of the Year and the Panthers' three-time MVP while earning a degree in Sociology in his four-year collegiate career, Ward was invited to the Minnesota Wild's training camp in 2006. In his first full professional season, he was assigned to the Wild's American Hockey League affiliate, the Houston Aeros, signing his first professional contract for the entirety of the 2005–06 season. After impressing Wild management with his work ethic, Ward earned a two-year contract with Minnesota on September 27, 2006. He debuted in 11 NHL games with the Wild during the 2006–07 season, but spent his time primarily with the Aeros, developing into a responsible, two-way player and improving his points totals in each of his three years. As a free agent, Ward signed a one-year contract with the Nashville Predators on July 15, 2008. He made the opening night roster out of training camp for the 2008–09 season and scored his first NHL goal in his first game as a Predator against the St. Louis Blues on October 10, 2008. In 2008–09, his first full NHL season, he scored 17 goals in 79 games, and his reliability as a defensive forward, and success as a utility scoring forward earned him a two-year contract extension on July 1, 2009. Ward became an unrestricted free agent after the 2010–11 season and subsequently signed a four-year, $12 million contract with the Washington Capitals on July 1, 2011. On April 25, 2012, Ward scored the game-winning goal in overtime in Game 7 of the first round of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs against the defendingStanley Cup champions, the Boston Bruins, advancing Washington to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. However, Ward's fortune would not continue into Washington's series with the New York Rangers. With the series tied at two games apiece, Ward took a high-sticking double minor penalty on Carl Hagelin with 22 seconds remaining in the third period of Game 5, with Washington leading 2–1. Rangers forward Brad Richards tied the game with under ten seconds remaining, and defenceman Marc Staal scored in overtime with the Rangers still on the powerplay as a result of Ward's penalty; the Rangers took a 3–2 series lead. After the Capitals' ultimate elimination in the series, Ward required surgery for a sports hernia. On November 1, 2013, in his 336th career game, Ward scored his first career hat-trick, coming against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 7–0 Washington victory. In 2014, Ward was selected to represent Canada at the 2014 IIHF World Championship. He started on the team's checking fourth line, but finished as one of the team's top scorers. On July 3, 2015, as an unrestricted free agent, Ward signed a three-year, $9.75 million contract with the San Jose Sharks. As the Sharks prepared to play in the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ward spoke to ESPN, stating that the NHL's first player of colour, retired fellow right winger Willie O'Ree, should have his player number 22 retired by the NHL league-wide, just as Jackie Robinson, the first player of colour in Major League Baseball has been honoured—and whom O'Ree had met in person in his own younger years—by having his own player number 42 retired league-wide. After his contract expired after three seasons, Ward left the Sharks' organization. On September 14, 2018, Ward agreed to attend the Montreal Canadiens' training camp on a professional tryout. However, the Canadiens released Ward from his tryout on September 25. On April 27, 2020, Ward announced his retirement from professional ice hockey via The Players' Tribune. On June 8, 2020, Ward became an inaugural executive board member the Hockey Diversity Alliance, whose goal is to address intolerance and racism in hockey.
