Gary Roberts Gary Roberts ( born May 23 , 1966 ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . He was the first round pick of the Calgary Flames , 12th overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft . Roberts played the first ten seasons of his NHL career with the Flames , winning the Stanley Cup in 1989 . A serious neck injury forced Roberts to miss most of the 1994 – 95 season as well as the first half of the 1995 – 96 season . He returned to the Flames late that year , and after scoring 42 points in 35 games , won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey . His neck did not get better , and he was forced to miss the entire 1996 – 97 season . One year later , Roberts made a comeback with the Carolina Hurricanes , where he played three seasons before finishing his career with stints playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs , Florida Panthers , Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning . Roberts played over 1 , 200 NHL games in his career , recording 438 goals and 910 points . Playing career . Roberts played junior hockey for the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) ' s Ottawa 67 ' s beginning in 1982 . In his second year , the 67 ' s won the Memorial Cup . After the season , Roberts was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft . Roberts won the Memorial Cup a second time as a member of the Guelph Platers in 1986 . Roberts split the next season between the Calgary Flames of the NHL and their AHL affiliate , the Moncton Golden Flames . Roberts made his NHL stay permanent beginning with the 1987 – 88 season . In 1989 he helped the Flames win the Stanley Cup . Injuries and early retirement . At the conclusion of the 1995 – 96 season , Roberts won the NHL ' s Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his comeback . On June 17 , 1996 , at the age of 30 , Roberts announced his retirement from hockey , before returning to hockey after the next season . Return to hockey . In his first NHL season away from Calgary , Roberts scored 20 goals and added 29 assists for 49 points in 61 games . He played for Carolina for three seasons before signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs . In Toronto , Roberts was reunited with his childhood friend and old Calgary teammate , Joe Nieuwendyk . Roberts did not play his first game of the 2002 – 03 season until February 15 , 2003 , after missing most of the season following surgeries on both shoulders during the summer of 2002 . Three days later , Roberts and the Maple Leafs agreed to a one - year contract extension through the 2003 – 04 season . On January 13 , 2004 , Roberts and teammate Tom Fitzgerald each played in the 1 , 000th games of their careers . Due to the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout , he did not play in the 2004 – 05 NHL season . On August 1 , 2005 , both Roberts and Nieuwendyk signed $ 4 . 5 million contracts with the Florida Panthers . On February 27 , 2007 , Roberts was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenceman Noah Welch . Roberts re - signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins for a one - year , $ 2 . 5 million ( USD ) deal . During the second period of the Penguins game against the Buffalo Sabres on December 29 , 2007 , Roberts became tangled up with Tim Connolly and landed awkwardly , breaking his left fibula . Roberts refused to be carried off in a stretcher . He had been honored before the game for having scored his 900th career point . Roberts scored two goals against the Ottawa Senators on April 9 , 2008 , becoming the oldest player in the NHL to register multiple goals in one playoff game . On June 28 , 2008 , the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired exclusive negotiation rights with Roberts and Ryan Malone from the Penguins for a third - round draft pick in 2009 . Two days later , the Lightning signed Roberts to a one - year contract that pays him a minimum of $ 1 . 25 million , with $ 10 , 000 extra for every game played in the regular season , a possible bonus of $ 820 , 000 . Malone had signed a seven - year contract one day earlier . On February 16 , 2009 , Gary Roberts became the oldest player in NHL history to be the sole goal scorer in a game ( 1 - 0 Lighting over Islanders ) . This broke the mark set by Scott Stevens who , at age 39 , had been the previous oldest sole single goal scorer . On March 6 , 2009 Roberts announced his retirement from the NHL after failing to be claimed on the NHL waiver wire .