Former Toronto Maple Leafs winger Sergei Berezin has died at the age of 52, the NHL Alumni Association announced Wednesday.
The Russia native was a 10th round pick by Toronto in the 1994 NHL Draft and made his league debut two years later.
He made an immediate impact, scoring 25 goals and being named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.
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Sergei Berezin of the Toronto Maple Leafs plays against the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 9, 1999 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. (Graig Abel/Getty Images)
His best season came in 1998-99, when he scored 37 goals and recorded 22 assists for a total of 59 points, both career highs.
That season, he recorded six goals and six assists in the playoffs, helping the Leafs reach the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were defeated by the Buffalo Sabres, who ultimately lost to the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Perhaps his most memorable moment was when he scored the series-winning goal with about a minute left in a first-round playoff game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Sergei Berezin passed away at the age of 52. (Al Bello/All Sports)
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In 2001, he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes and then to the Montreal Canadiens, before spending the following season with the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals.
Berezin scored 126 goals and recorded 94 assists in his career.
He won a silver medal for the Soviet Union at the 1991 World Junior Championships.
The league’s alumni association wrote that in retirement he “enjoyed coaching minor hockey, playing tennis and, most of all, spending time with his family.”
Sergey Berezin scored 126 goals and provided 94 assists in his career. (Graig Abel/Getty Images)
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“We are deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Sergei Berezin,” the Leafs said in a statement released by the X. “Our hearts go out to his family and friends during this difficult time.”
The cause of death has not been revealed.
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