The hiring of Pat Burns as the Maple Leafs' head coach in 1992 represented a turning point in Zezel's career. While he had previously always been given a great deal of offensive responsibility, the defensive-minded Burns employed Zezel almost exclusively as a checking line center, and his numbers plummeted. Additionally, he continued to be plagued by injuries, missing half the 1993–94 season with an ongoing back problems that had bothered him for several years. However, when healthy he was still an effective player, and helped Toronto reach the Western Conference Finals in both 1993 and 1994, including a Game 1 overtime winner in 1994.