Antropov was expected to be drafted early in the second round, but following a dominant season with Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk in the second-tier of the Russian Superleague, including an international match against Iceland, in which he scored 11 goals and 26 points, he was drafted tenth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Before going overseas to play hockey in North America, Antropov also played in the RSL with Dynamo Moscow. When Owen Nolan joined the Maple Leafs in March 2003, Antropov changed his number from #11 to #80, the year of his birth. In 2003–04, Maple Leafs head coach Pat Quinn placed Antropov alongside Joe Nieuwendyk and Alexei Ponikarovsky dubbed the "Skyline" due to the players' height.. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Antropov returned to the RSL and played 36 games split between Ak Bars Kazan and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. However, injuries felled the power forward, and he missed significant time during the 2005–06 season. Antropov managed to produce 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points in 57 games. Upon Antropov's return from injury, he added 15 points in the final 10 regular season games of the 2005–06 season. He finished third on the team in even strength scoring and also led the Leafs in plus-minus with a +13 rating. In 2006–07, Antropov typically played alongside team captainMats Sundin and Ponikarovsky on Toronto's top line. On June 6, 2007, the Maple Leafs announced they had signed Antropov to a two-year contract extension. During a game against the New York Rangers on December 6, 2007, Antropov scored his second career hat-trick and was named the game's first star. In December 2007, a campaign was launched to encourage fans to vote Antropov as a write-in candidate for the 2007 NHL All-Star Game held in Atlanta. On February 9, 2008, Antropov set a new career-high in goals with 19 when he scored in overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 3–2 win, tipping in an Anton Strålmanslapshot; he finished the season with 26 goals. On March 4, 2009, Antropov was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for a second-round draft pick and conditional draft pick. On July 2, 2009, Antropov signed a four-year, $16.25 million deal with the Atlanta Thrashers as a free agent. He was expected to make $3.5 million the first year, $3.75 million the second, $4.25 million the third and $4.75 million for the final year of the deal for an average cap hit of $4.0625 million per year. Antropov's first year with the Thrashers was his most successful, scoring 24 goals and 43 assists. Following the team's relocation to Winnipegin the summer of 2011, Antropov had scored the first goal of the new Winnipeg Jets on October 9, 2011, against the Montreal Canadiens. On August 8, 2013, Antropov signed a two-year contract with Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League, where he played during 2012–13 NHL lockout. At the conclusion of his two-year tenure with Barys, Antropov retired from professional hockey and returned to Canada.
During his tenure with the Leafs, Antropov became a Canadian citizen. He received Canadian citizenship in May 2007. Antropov and his wife have three children. Antropov's oldest son, Danil is currently a forward for the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League, and was eligible to be drafted in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, but went undrafted.
