He finished a two-year career with the Yale Bulldogs, earning ECAC Hockey Player of the Year honors as a sophomore, before turning professional for the 2003–04 season.

[3] Higgins made his NHL debut on October 11, 2003, registering three minutes of ice time in a 4–0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

[6] Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Higgins automatically remained in Hamilton and improved to 51 points, ranking third among Bulldogs scorers.

He scored his first career NHL goal on October 6, 2005, against New York Rangers goalie Kevin Weekes during an away game at Madison Square Garden.

[10] Sidelined for 6 weeks,[1] Higgins was limited to 61 games, though still managed to match his previous season's points total with 22 goals and 16 assists.

[1] Set to become a restricted free agent in the off-season, Montreal re-signed Higgins to a two-year, US$3.4 million deal on June 25, 2007.

[1] Coming off what was the lowest statistical season of his career, he was traded by the Canadiens, along with Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko and Doug Janik, to the New York Rangers in exchange for Scott Gomez, Tom Pyatt and Michael Busto on June 30, 2009.

[16] His offensive struggles continued in New York (he recorded 15 points in 55 games) and he was subsequently traded to the Calgary Flames on February 2, 2010.

[1] Becoming an unrestricted free agent in the off-season, Higgins signed a one-year, US$1.6 million deal with the Florida Panthers on July 2, 2010.

[18] He had considered re-signing with Calgary, but cited new Florida Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon's experience as a strong factor for joining Florida (Tallon was largely responsible for assembling the Chicago Blackhawks team that won the Stanley Cup the previous season).

[1] With the Panthers out of playoff contention late in the season, the team began trading away numerous veterans and core players.

[21] At the NHL trade deadline, on February 28, 2011, Higgins was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defensive prospect Evan Oberg and a third-round draft pick in 2013.

After eliminating the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks in the first three rounds, the Canucks advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

His injury occurred in game five of the second round against the Predators, when he blocked a Kevin Klein shot with his skate, breaking his left foot.

Towards the end of the season, he was consistently placed on the team's third line, a defensive shutdown unit with fellow two-way forwards Jannik Hansen and deadline-acquisition Samuel Påhlsson.

"[32] Appearing in 71 games, Higgins recorded 43 points (18 goals and 25 assists), his highest total in four years and fifth among team forwards.

In the off-season, on June 27, 2016, Higgins's tenure in Vancouver ended when he was placed on waivers by the Canucks for the intention of buying out the remaining year of his contract.

[35] On August 30, 2016, unable to secure an NHL contract, Higgins signed a PTO to attend training camp with former club, the Calgary Flames.

[41] On September 11, 2019, it was announced that Higgins had returned to the Vancouver Canucks organization to serve as an assistant director of player development.

[46] Though he grew up on Long Island, Higgins was a Montreal Canadiens fan as a child, following after his father; his favorite players on the team were goaltender Patrick Roy and captain Kirk Muller.