Reliving the glory of the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs are often called the greatest playoffs in NHL history. At this website we are partial to the 1990s NHL, but in doing a bit of research, I think the title is appropriate. In total, 28 games went to overtime, which as far as my counting tells me, is a record for one playoff season. Of those 28 games, only six went beyond the first overtime, and all of those ended in double overtime. The games generally ended pretty fast, with the average overtime winner being scored 11:27 in the extra period.

The longest game was the Islanders’ double overtime victory over Washington in the Patrick Division Semi-Finals, with Brian Mullen being credited with the winner at 14:50 of double overtime, on a goal actually put in by Ray Ferraro. The quickest winner was John LeClair’s in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals for Montreal, only 34 seconds in.

Speaking of Montreal, they won 10 straight overtime games after losing 3-2 to Quebec in Game 1 of the Adams Division Semi-Finals. The Islanders and Toronto had four overtime wins apiece, and Buffalo had three alone in their Adams Division Semi-Final against Boston.

Four players had two overtime goals each. Ray Ferraro should have had three, which would have been in back-to-back-to-back games. John LeClair scored his two back-to-back goals in the Stanley Cup Finals, with teammates Kirk Muller and Guy Carbonneau also scoring two each during the Habs' cup triumph.

Naturally superstars like Wayne Gretzky, Doug Gilmour and Teemu Selanne scored OT winners, but what was more impressive was the number of unsung heroes that emerged. Yuri Khmylev, Nikolai Borschevsky, Gilbert Dionne (although he didn’t really score it), Brad May, Stephan Lebeau, Gary Shuchuk, Bob Sweeney and David Volek all scored arguably the biggest goals of their NHL careers in the 1993 playoffs.

If you want to relive all the glory of the 1993 playoffs, take 13 minutes and watch every overtime goal here.

595 - Josef Beranek

A forward, Beranek was drafted 78th overall by Edmonton in 1989. Following the draft he played three years of pro in his native Czechoslovakia before coming to North America for the 1991-92 season. In Beranek’s rookie season with the Oilers he played in 58 games, scoring 13 goals and 28 points.

In January 1993 he was traded to Philadelphia with Greg Hawgood for Brian Benning. In his first full season as a Flyer (1993-94), Beranek played in a career high 80 games, and scored a career high 28 goals and 49 points. A little over two years after landing in Philadelphia he was traded to Vancouver for Shawn Antoski, playing parts of two seasons with the Canucks, scoring 16 goals and 35 points.

Beranek started the 1996-97 season in the Czech Republic, returning to the NHL after a March 1997 trade to Pittsburgh. Between regular season and playoffs he played in 13 games combined for the Penguins. He returned home for the 1997-98 season, where he won a Czech league title, an Olympic gold medal and a World Championship bronze.

In June 1998 Beranek returned to Edmonton via a trade, with Pittsburgh landing Bobby Dollas and Tony Hrkac in return. During the 1998-99 season he tied his career high of 49 points, along with scoring 18 goals. In March 2000 Beranek was traded to Pittsburgh, with his second stint with the Pens lasting 83 games and 31 points scored.

Following the 2000-01 season he returned to the Czech Republic for good, playing nine more seasons of pro hockey. He captained Slavia Praha for eight of those seasons, led the league in regular season and playoff scoring in 2003-04 and won one more league title. In nine NHL seasons Beranek played in 531 games, scoring 118 goals and 262 points. From 2010 to 2020 he coached with a variety of teams in Czechia.

YouTube clip: taking a hit from Dale Hunter that sends Beranek into the Capitals bench during a Flyers-Capitals game in the 1993-94 season. It looks like Beranek leaps into the bench of his own accord, but I’ll let you be the judge.

596 - Brad May

A left winger, May was drafted 14th overall by Buffalo in 1990. He played one additional season of junior hockey before turning pro in 1991-92, playing in 69 games with the Sabres, scoring 11 goals and recording 309 penalty minutes (seventh in the league).

Best described as an enforcer first, May was also a guy who could put the puck in the net, as evident by two seasons of 15 or more goals and 45 or more points over his first six seasons in Buffalo. In the 1993-94 season he scored a career high 18 goals and 45 points, and in 1995-96 he finished fourth in the league with 295 penalty minutes.

In February 1998 he was traded to Vancouver with a draft pick for Geoff Sanderson. May lasted just under three seasons with the Canucks before a trade to Phoenix in June 2000. In his first two seasons with the Coyotes he eclipsed the 10 goal and 20 point barriers, while also recording 95 or more penalty minutes. In March 2003 he was traded back to Vancouver, lasting 70 games with the Canucks in his second tour.

Following the 2004-05 lockout season, May signed with Colorado, playing in 64 games over two seasons before a trade to Anaheim. 15 seasons into his career May won his first Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007, contributing an assist and 28 penalty minutes in 18 playoff games. He split his final two seasons with Detroit and Toronto, playing in 78 games before retiring after the 2009-10 season. 

In 18 NHL seasons he played in 1041 games, scoring 127 goals and 288 points. He ranks 37th all-time in penalty minutes with 2248 penalty minutes. In retirement May coached with Mississauga in the OHL for one season (2011-12) before turning to a career in broadcasting. Since 2017 he has been an analyst with the Vegas Golden Knights.

YouTube clip: you had to know it was going to be the May Day goal that clinched the Sabres’ sweep of Boston in the 1993 Adams Division Semi-Finals.

597 - Jeff Odgers

A right winger, Odgers went undrafted after playing four seasons with Brandon in the WHL. He turned pro with Kansas City in the IHL in 1990-91, scoring 31 points and recording 318 penalty minutes. Odgers’ rookie pro performance landed him a contract with the expansion San Jose Sharks, where he made his NHL debut during their inaugural season, scoring 11 points and recording 217 penalty minutes.

An assistant captain for two seasons, and captain for two others, Odgers has two seasons of 12 goals and one 13 goal season to go with two seasons of 200 or more penalty minutes. In June 1996 he was traded to Boston with a draft pick for Al Iafrate. He lasted one season with the Bruins, scoring 15 points and recording 197 penalty minutes before signing with Colorado. Odgers played three seasons with the Avalanche, finishing second in the league in penalty minutes with 259 in 1998-99.

The 2000s NHL expansion provided Odgers with more opportunities when he was claimed by Minnesota in the expansion draft, then claimed off waivers by Atlanta. In three seasons with the Thrashers he played in 202 games, scoring 27 points and earning 532 penalty minutes, wearing an assistant captain’s ‘A’ for all three seasons.

In 12 NHL seasons Odgers played in 821 games, scoring 75 goals and 145 points. He recorded 2364 penalty minutes, good for 27th all-time. Odgers continued to play hockey in retirement, joining the Rocanville Tigers, a senior team near his hometown of Spy Hill, Saskatchewan. From 2006 to 2008 he was a broadcaster with the Atlanta Thrashers and he has also coached high level youth hockey in his home province.

YouTube clip: fighting Georges Laraque during a February 2003 game between Edmonton and Atlanta. Even better is TSN’s ticker during an interview with Laraque, displaying ‘5 PIM, great scrap”.

598 - Rob Pearson

A right winger, Pearson was drafted 12th overall by Toronto in 1989. After the draft he returned to the OHL, scoring 65 goals and 118 points, winning the oddly specific Jim Mahon Trophy for the highest scoring right winger in the league.

Pearson turned pro in 1991-92, playing in 47 games with the Maple Leafs, scoring 14 goals and 24 points. His sophomore season would turn out to be the best of his short NHL career, scoring 23 goals and 37 points along with 211 penalty minutes. In June 1994 he was traded to Washington for Mike Ridley and a swap of first round draft picks. Pearson played 32 games with the Caps in 1995-96, recording six assists and 96 penalty minutes. He started the following season in the AHL with Portland, scoring at nearly a point per game pace before a January 1996 trade to St. Louis for Denis Chasse.

In two seasons with the Blues Pearson played in 47 games, scoring 13 points. Between 1998 and 2000 he played for three teams in the IHL, sat out the 2000-01 season, and played one final season of pro in Germany in 2001-02.

In six NHL seasons Pearson played in 269 games, scoring 56 goals and 110 points along with 645 penalty minutes. The Oshawa, Ontario native has coached a variety of teams near his hometown in retirement, most recently as the head coach and general manager with Pickering’s junior A team.

YouTube clip: starting a fight with Bruins goalie John Blue during a November 1993 game. Blue instigated the kerfuffle with a trip and then immediately regretted his decision before teammate David Shaw jumps in to save him.

599 - Luciano Borsato

A centre, Borsato was drafted 135th overall by Winnipeg in 1984. Following the draft he played four seasons of college hockey at Clarkson, averaging over a point per game. After college Borsato played a season in Finland, scoring 67 points in 44 games, then joined Moncton in the AHL for two seasons. 

He made his NHL debut with one game in the 1990-91 season, followed by his true rookie season in 1991-92, playing in 56 games, scoring 15 goals and 36 points. The following season Borsato again scored 15 goals, adding 35 points. 1993-94 saw him play in a career-high 75 games, but only score 18 points. Borsato played his final four NHL games during the 1994-95 season before embarking on a significant career in Europe. He played seven seasons in Europe split between Finland, Switzerland and Germany, retiring after the 2001-02 season.

In five NHL seasons Borsato played in 203 games, scoring 35 goals and 90 points. In retirement he has worked in marketing and communications.

YouTube clip: an eight minute highlight montage, which seems like a long amount for someone who played just over 200 career games. It turns out the channel that hosts the video is from Borsato’s marketing company.