During his career in North America, Ozoliņš was a seven-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup champion (as a member of the 1995–96 Colorado Avalanche), and Norris Trophy finalist.

He is also the all-time leader for goals, assists, points, and games played by a Latvian in the NHL and holds several Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks franchise records.

He played for the Sharks, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers.

Ozoliņš helped the Sharks to move beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, losing in the conference semifinals.

Ozoliņš began the 1995–96 season with one goal and three assists in seven games for the Sharks before being acquired by the Colorado Avalanche for Owen Nolan on October 26, 1995.

After losing to the Detroit Red Wings in the 1997 conference finals, Ozoliņš finished third in votes for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the league's most outstanding defenceman.

[4] Ozoliņš didn't help the Hurricanes to advance in the playoffs, playing just one and a half seasons with Carolina before being traded to the Florida Panthers.

Ozoliņš became a Panther after being acquired in 2001–02 mid-season from Carolina along with Byron Ritchie in exchange for Bret Hedican, Kevyn Adams, Tomáš Malec and a draft pick.

During the 2002–03 season, the Panthers sent Ozoliņš to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for Matt Cullen, Pavel Trnka, and a draft pick.

[8] Upon his arrival with the Ducks, Ozoliņš helped the club reach their first Stanley Cup Finals, losing a seven-game series to the New Jersey Devils.

After clearing waivers, Ozoliņš was assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), but a short while later was put on the injured reserve list due to a knee injury.

After his season with the Sharks, Ozoliņš was offered a one-year contract by the Los Angeles Kings worth $800,000, but he declined it[12] and went on hiatus from hockey for a year.

On July 13, 2009, Ozoliņš unexpectedly signed a one-year deal with KHL home country team Dinamo Riga, with whom he started his senior career in 1990.

In January 2010, Ozoliņš was selected to play on the starting roster for the Jaromír Jágr team in the KHL All-Star game.

[citation needed] Since joining Riga, Ozoliņš had 22 goals and 65 assists in 158 regular season KHL appearances, serving as the team captain for every game.

[20] In his only season with Atlant in 2012–13, Ozoliņš was named team captain and immediately served as a fixture on the blueline, producing 2 goals and 20 points in 42 games.

[22] On November 8, 2022, it was announced that Sandis Ozoliņš had been hired as an amateur scout for the Colorado Avalanche organization of whom he won his only Stanley Cup with as a player back in 1996.

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, he played under the new flag of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and won a gold medal at the 1992 World Junior Championships.

[25] The Latvian team, including Ozoliņš, did indeed qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi (and was named captain), where they upset the Swiss to earn a berth in the quarterfinals, then lost to Canada to finish 8th.