That spring, he would again help the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals, registering 13 points before the team was again bested by the Oilers.

His stay in Washington was brief, as he appeared in only 20 games before being dealt to his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs in a deal for Al Iafrate.

The hiring of Pat Burns as the Maple Leafs' head coach in 1992 represented a turning point in Zezel's career.

While he had previously always been given a great deal of offensive responsibility, the defensive-minded Burns employed Zezel almost exclusively as a checking line center, and his numbers plummeted.

Additionally, he continued to be plagued by injuries, missing half the 1993–94 season with an ongoing back problems that had bothered him for several years.

However, when healthy he was still an effective player, and helped Toronto reach the Western Conference Finals in both 1993 and 1994, including a Game 1 overtime winner in 1994.

In the summer of 1994, Zezel was awarded to the Dallas Stars as compensation for the Leafs' signing of free agent Mike Craig.

There, Zezel was given a chance to contribute offensively alongside star winger Alexander Mogilny, and he responded with 17 points in 25 games, including a goal on his first shift as a Canuck.

Zezel's niece Jilliann was terminally ill with cancer in Toronto and he requested a trade from the Canucks (who were far out of the playoff race) to an Eastern Conference team so he could be closer to his family.

[2] Instead, Vancouver General Manager Brian Burke dealt him to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the farthest stop from Toronto in the league.

Zezel was drafted by the Toronto Blizzard of the North American Soccer League,[5] and appeared as striker in three exhibition games for them in 1982.

[9] In May 2010, the Soccer Hall of Fame & Museum Board of Governors selected Zezel as the first recipient of the Brian Budd Award.

His soccer background made him a very strong player along the boards, and one of the best face-off men in the NHL.

In October 2001, Zezel almost died of the rare blood disorder that eventually claimed his life: hemolytic anemia.