Cory Stillman's first year in the OHL was 1990-91 with the Windsor Spitfires where he collected 101 points in only 64 games. The next season saw Stillman selected by the Calgary Flames 6th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. His final year as a junior saw Stillman and his new team the Peterborough Petes go all the way to the Memorial Cup finals. In Stillman's first season in the AHL with the Saint John Flames he led all rookies in scoring and made his NHL debut the next season while spending the majority of the year in Saint John. Stillman saw his first Stanley Cup playoff action in 1996 and was in Calgary for the better part of seven seasons before being dealt to the St. Louis Blues who were getting geared up for a Cup run in 2001. The Blues went all the way to the Conference Finals before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup winning Colorado Avalanche.
In his first full season with the Blues in 2001-02 Stillman scored 23 goals and finished with 45 points before establishing a career high 67 points the following year. After parts of three seasons with St. Louis, Stillman signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 2003 and went on to establish a career high in points with 80 (25-55-80) during the 2003-04 season and was instrumental in leading the Bolts to their first Stanley Cup title. Following the lock out year of 2004-05, Stillman was acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes in the summer of 2005.