In the 2004–05 QMJHL season, he became the number one goalie on the team, leading the Océanic, along with the forward Sidney Crosby, to the Memorial Cup final, where they lost 4–0 to the London Knights.

In 2006, Desjardins was invited to the Chicago Blackhawks training camp before signing a two-year contract with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League on July 26, 2006.

He played in 47 games and had an astounding 29-9-4 record with 6 shutouts and leading the league with a 2.00 Goals against average to win the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award.

[10] On February 16, Desjardins was briefly recalled by Colorado to serve as the backup goalie in place of the injured Jean-Sébastien Giguère, however never played with the Avalanche.

[12] Reassigned to his familiar stomping grounds in Hamilton to start the 2012–13 season, Desjardins suffered from injury and registered only 7 wins in 22 games for the cellar dwelling Bulldogs.

[13] On February 14, 2013, Desjardins again retraced his footsteps when he was traded from the Canadiens to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a second time in exchange for another goalie, Dustin Tokarski.