Derek Plante Derek Plante ( born January 17 , 1971 ) is a retired American professional ice hockey centre who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) for the Buffalo Sabres , Dallas Stars , Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers . Playing career . Drafted out of high school by the Buffalo Sabres in 1989 , Plante attended the University of Minnesota Duluth and by his senior year was an All - Star leading the WCHA in goals , assists , and total scoring . Plante skipped minor league hockey and jumped right to the NHL in 1994 , replacing an injured Pat LaFontaine and scoring 21 goals . By turning pro so quickly , Plante missed out on an opportunity to represent the United States in the 1994 Winter Olympics . In the lockout - shortened 1994 – 95 season , Plante managed only 3 goals and 19 assists , but rebounded nicely in 1995 – 96 on a rebuilding , but hard - working Sabres squad , netting 23 goals and adding 30 assists . In 1997 , Plante became the Sabres ' top scoring center . he netted a career high 27 goals and led the surprising Sabres squad to a Northeast Division championship and playoff berth . Plante scored the game winning , series - clinching game 7 overtime goal against the upstart Ottawa Senators . Plante knocked down an opponent pass at center , quickly positioned himself , and fired a slapshot that managed to escape the glove of netminder Ron Tugnutt and trickle into the goal . Mobbed by his ecstatic teammates , Plante suffered a cut lip in the ensuing celebration . Plante played well in the next series vs . Eric Lindros and the Philadelphia Flyers , but the overmatched team fell in 5 . Plante ' s numbers slipped in 1997 – 98 , scoring only 13 goals and 34 points , however the Sabres advanced deeper into the playoffs than many expected , losing to the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Finals . Halfway through the 1999 season Plante was traded to the Dallas Stars . The Stars went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals , and , ironically , met Plante ' s old team , the Sabres . Plante had played in the first two series of the playoffs , scoring a critical goal in the second round , but was a healthy scratch for every game of the finals , which the Stars won 4 games to 2 . Even though he didn ' t play in the finals , Plante got in on the time - honored tradition of taking personal stewardship of the Cup , which he spent in his home town of Cloquet , Minnesota . The Dallas Stars had Plante ' s name engraved on the Stanley Cup even though he did not play in the required number of games . The following year Plante found himself in the Chicago Blackhawks organization . For the first time in his career , Plante played on a minor league team , the Chicago Wolves . In 2000 – 01 Plante starred for the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms , and by the end of the year was called up to join the Philadelphia Flyers . The Flyers kept Derek on their playoff roster to face the Sabres . Plante scored a goal against his former teammate Dominik Hašek earlier in the season , but the Sabres prevailed , and Plante hasn ' t been back in the NHL since . For the past four seasons , Plante has been playing in European leagues , most notably with the Munich Barons . From 2005 to 2007 , he played in the Asia League as a member of the Nippon Paper Cranes , winning the championship in 2007 . During 2007 – 2008 , he is playing for the SC Langenthal . Plante ' s Father Bruce is the head coach of the high school hockey team in Hermantown , Minnesota . The team went undefeated in 2006 – 07 and won the class A state championship .