Zezel's career ended abruptly at the trade deadline late in the 1998–99 season. 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 (NHL) team so he could be closer to his family. Instead, Vancouver General Manager Brian Burke dealt him to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the furthest stop from Toronto in the league. Zezel retired from the NHL and returned home, with Burke and Canucks' management receiving criticism from a media and public sympathetic to Zezel's situation and for the callous way they thought he was treated. Burke had the Canucks buy out the remainder of Zezel's contract ($110,000) and made a charitable donation in the same amount, to an organization the Canucks supported for terminally ill children.