Steve Thomas Stephen Anthony " Stumpy " Thomas ( born 15 July , 1963 in Stockport , England ) is a retired British - born Canadian right winger who played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs , Chicago Blackhawks , New York Islanders , New Jersey Devils , Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Detroit Red Wings . Trades & Signings . Traded to Chicago by Toronto with Rick Vaive and Bob McGill for Al Secord and Ed Olczyk , September 3 , 1987 . Traded to NY Islanders by Chicago with Adam Creighton for Brent Sutter and Brad Lauer , October 25 , 1991 . Traded to New Jersey by NY Islanders for Claude Lemieux , October 3 , 1995 . Signed as a free agent by Toronto , July 30 , 1998 . Signed as a free agent by Chicago . Traded to Anaheim by Chicago for Anaheim ' s 5th round choice ( Alexei Ivanov ) in 2003 Entry Draft , March 11 , 2003 . Signed as a free agent by Detroit , November 5 , 2003 . Playing career . Thomas went undrafted after his junior career but signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs . He began his NHL career in the 1984 – 85 season . Thomas was born in Stockport , England but was raised in Markham , Ontario , Canada . He played junior hockey for the Toronto Marlboros of the OHL ( he was the last original Toronto Marlboro to make it to the Maple Leafs of the NHL ) . Prior to playing in the NHL Thomas won the Dudley " Red " Garrett Memorial Award in 1985 as the top rookie in the American Hockey League , while playing for the St . Catharines Saints . He developed into a bona - fide NHL goal scorer with Toronto , scoring 35 goals in the 1986 – 87 season . He was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks that summer and played for Chicago until 1991 – 92 and was then traded to the New York Islanders . It would be with the Islanders that Thomas would have his best years . In the 1992 – 93 season , Thomas scored 37 goals and 50 assists for a career - high of 87 points . During the playoffs , when Islanders superstar Pierre Turgeon was injured by a Dale Hunter check in the first round , Thomas and teammate Ray Ferraro emerged as the unlikely heroes of the Islander ' s playoff run . Both made the top ten in postseason scoring as the Islanders made a run to the Prince of Wales Conference finals . The next year he set a career - high in goals with 42 . Thomas had second stints with the Leafs ( 1998 – 2001 ) and Chicago ( 2001 – 2002 ) before moving to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . His career looked to be over with Chicago , however the trade to the Ducks instantly rejuvenated his career . After scoring just 4 goals with the Blackhawks , Thomas had 10 goals in the final 12 games of the season with the Ducks and added 4 more goals in the postseason as his team made it to their first Stanley Cup Finals . The Ducks had wanted to keep Thomas for 2003 - 2004 as well , but they ran out of money , and Thomas ' s absence negatively affected his former linemates . Despite being considered a great playoff player , Thomas was never able to capture a Stanley Cup in his career . He came close in 2002 – 03 when his Mighty Ducks of Anaheim made it to the Stanley Cup Finals , the first of his and the team ' s , but they lost to the New Jersey Devils in a hard fought 7 games . Thomas also holds the record for overtime - winning goals with ten when he scored against the Buffalo Sabres , previously having shared it with Mario Lemieux ' s nine . Thomas signed a one - year contract ( 2003 – 2004 ) with the Detroit Red Wings before the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout and proved effective playing on a line with youngster Pavel Datsyuk and Brett Hull . At one stretch in the seaon , Thomas had 10 points in 13 games , and he enjoyed more ice time than he initially expected due to injuries among the Wings ' roster . The Wings finished first in the league but lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Calgary Flames . After the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout he was invited to the Toronto Maple Leafs tryout in 2005 , but he was cut before the regular season started . He is currently the Assistant / Mentor Coach for the St . Michael ' s Buzzers , a Jr . A team in Toronto .