Maple Leafs reeling from sudden death of Sergei Berezin

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Sergei Berezin, the Russian winger who dazzled the Maple Leafs in the 1990s and played for four other NHL teams, has died suddenly at the age of 52.

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The league’s Alumni Association said Wednesday evening that it was heartbroken by the news. The release described Berezin as happily retired in Florida, coaching minor hockey, playing tennis and spending time with his family. There were many old Instagram photos of his loved ones.

Toronto selected the speedy winger late in the 1994 draft as access to Russian players began to increase. He debuted in 1996-97 with 25 goals and tried to learn a better, more physical three-zone game to complement his natural scoring touch. Under new coach Pat Quinn, he had his best season in 1998-99, with 37 goals and 12 points in the playoffs, as the Leafs advanced to the conference finals.

In 2001, Berezin was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes for Mikael Renberg, playing each of the next four seasons with different clubs, the Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals. He then had a short stint in the KHL with CSKA Moscow after first catching the eye of Toronto with a 31-goal season for Khimik in 1993-94, then two years in Germany with the Cologne Sharks. In 357 games with the Leafs, he had 126 goals and 94 assists.

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THE SECOND CHOICE IS ALSO POPULAR

There’s little drama surrounding Friday night’s No. 1 draft pick, with San Jose set to host North Vancouver’s Macklin Celebrini.

The pressure then shifts to the Chicago Blackhawks, last year’s big winner with Connor Bedard at No. 1 and now owning every pick other than Celebrini. A few mock drafts have them selecting KHL scoring winger Ivan Demidov to complement Bedard. But even if he’s ranked ahead of Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov, the Hawks could succumb to the temptation of a defenseman with the physicality to play earlier in the NHL.

Levshunov or Demidov likely won’t fall further than third behind Anaheim. Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson has several picks in the first three rounds, but is apparently not interested in trading the No. 2 pick. Drafted 23rd overall without many picks in their cabinet afterward, the Leafs are in a similar mode, hoping to get more picks through trades.

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“We always have these discussions, the more balls you have, the better the situation,” Wes Clark, Toronto’s director of amateur scouting, told media in Las Vegas Wednesday night.

HARDWARE FOR THE HOME?

Thursday is the NHL regular season awards night in Las Vegas with its two major individual trophies, the Hart and the Lindsay, presented at the Fontainebleu and the chance for a player from a Canadian team to win both.

Professional Hockey Writers Association votes on Hart, players asked about Lindsay. Both men have Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado as finalists, although the base chose NHL regular-season goal leader Auston Matthews of Toronto while that the writers opted for Connor McDavid of the Oilers.

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Two goalies who play home games in Canada are in the running for the Vezina title, as voted by general managers, Connor Hellebucyk (Winnipeg) and Thatcher Demko (Vancouver), against eventual Stanley Cup winner Sergei Bobrovsky. The PHWA’s choice for the Norris Trophy as best defenseman is a Western Conference affair, Cale Makar (Colorado), Roman Josi (Nashville) and Quinn Hughes (Vancouver), as we are on the verge to see if Bédard’s injury-shortened season was enough to secure Calder the rookie of the year title against Brock Faber of the Minnesota Wild and Luke Hughes of New Jersey.

A DARKER FUTURE IN THE DESERT

If an NHL team is to return to the Phoenix area, it won’t be under Alex Meruelo, the Associated Press reports.

After club details moved to a very receptive Salt Lake City, Utah, for the 2024-25 season, there was hope that Meruelo could finally put a viable arena construction plan in place for a future franchise. But four days ago, the Arizona State Land Department announced the cancellation of an auction for 110 acres north of town, the latest setback for several plans to bring construction site.

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The AP said Meruelo’s son, Alex Jr., informed the rest of the Coyotes staff of their decision to draft him earlier this week.

A CLEAR CHALLENGE

Some rule changes will be made next season, the league announced Wednesday, one of them addressing the crippling delays in game penalties that teams take for pucks that cross the glass.

A coach’s challenge will now be allowed to erase such a penalty, but only to determine that it was deflected off a player, stick, glass or boards. This does not apply to a judgment on how the puck left the defensive zone, such as a puck being batted or whether it was removed from the defensive zone. A failed challenge still means a two-minute minor.

Another feature clarifies the language of the rule preventing line changes for a team that knocks the net off its posts, to include “goalkeepers” among the “skaters”… And following an icing, the offensive center will also now receive a warning (as will the defensive player) for a faceoff violation. Officials will also issue more warnings for a minor penalty to players who consistently sit on the boards.

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ICE FRIES

The first six players from each team who will participate in the Four Nations Face-Off will be revealed Friday before the first round of the draft… Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff reported Wednesday that a trade between Vancouver and Chicago was in the works, around the sending of Ilya Mikheyev and free agent Sam Lafferty to Chicago for a pick. Mikheyev must waive a no-trade clause… Popular Canucks center Teddy Blueger re-signed with the club on Wednesday for two years at US$1.8 million… The Anaheim Ducks will wear all-weather jerseys and pants orange next season.

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