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Sergei Berezin Passes Away At Age 52

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Earlier today, the NHL Alumni Association announced the passing of former player Sergei Berezin at age 52. Berezin, born in Voskresensk in 1971, spent seven seasons in the National Hockey League from 1996-2003.

Berezin started his professional career in his home town of Voskresensk in the early 1990s while playing for Khimik Voskresensk of the Soviet Hockey Championship league. Joining the league as a professional talent shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Berezin was able to play with Vyacheslav Kozlov who was born in the same town as Berezin a year later. Although several former Soviet players defected to the NHL before the collapse of the state; many players still faced harsh difficulties in pursuing a professional career in North America.

Berezin’s time would come, as he was drafted in the 10th round (256th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1994 NHL Draft after becoming a point-per-game player in Voskresensk in the now-defunct International Hockey League. After a brief stint in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga from 1994-1996, Berezin finally made his professional debut for the Maple Leafs for the 1996-97 NHL season.

Typically playing in the middle six of Toront’s forward core; Berezin quickly became a key secondary scorer. In his rookie campaign, Berezin scored 25 goals and 41 points in 73 games earning him seventh place in Calder Trophy voting. In the following four years, all with the Maple Leafs, Berezin would score 101 goals and 179 points in total over 284 regular season games. He contributed well for Toronto in the playoffs with 12 goals and 27 points over 40 postseason contests.

Following his tenure with the Maple Leafs, Berezin bounced around through four organizations over the next two seasons. He experienced some revival during his time with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2001-02 season with 18 goals and 31 points in 66 games — but was largely ineffective during his time with the Phoenix Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals.

Berezin retired from the NHL after the 2002-03 NHL season and spent one more in the Russian Superleague with CSKA Moscow. The Russian forward played in 502 games throughout his NHL tenure and scored 160 goals and 286 points. PHR sends its condolences to Berezin’s family and friends.

Dave Forbes Passes Away At Age 75

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Earlier today, the NHL Alumni Association announced the passing of former player Dave Forbes at the age of 75. Forbes, who was born in Montreal in 1948, spent six seasons in the National Hockey League from 1973-1979.

After spending four years playing for American International College, Forbes signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins before the 1973-74 NHL season, making his professional debut on October 10, 1973. Throughout his four years with the Bruins organization, Forbes scored 53 goals and 105 points in 283 games, helping the Bruins to the 1974 and 1977 Stanley Cup Finals.

During the 1977-78 Waiver Draft, Forbes was selected by the Washington Capitals in the organization’s fourth year of operations. Forbes managed 11 goals and 22 points over 70 games in his first year with the Capitals organization, as the team finished with a 17-49-14 record in the Norris Division. Forbes was released by Washington after two games of the 1978-79 season and finished his professional career that season after playing with the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association.

In total, Forbes played in a total of 362 career games at the NHL level, scoring 64 goals and 128 points while racking up 341 penalty minutes. After his career came to an end in 1979, Forbes picked up a second career as a financial advisor while becoming very involved in his local Church community throughout the end of his life. PHR sends its condolences to Forbes’ family and friends.

Bob Cole Passes Away

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Iconic Canadian play-by-play voice Bob Cole passed away Wednesday night at age 90, his daughter Megan told CBC News today.

Cole was regarded as one of the most legendary voices in hockey broadcasting history on both sides of the border, even if all his work was done for Canadian networks. He had a remarkable 50-year career calling games for both CBC and Rogers on television and a few seasons on radio in his early years starting in 1969. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 and rightly received the Hall’s Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for broadcasting excellence that year, also receiving the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.

The Newfoundland and Labrador native was the voice of multiple Canadian generations, working as the lead play-by-play announcer for CBC’s “Hockey Night in Canada” from 1980 to 2008, as well as their coverage of the Stanley Cup Final, until Jim Hughson was named his successor. He returned to coverage for Sportsnet in 2014, shortly after Rogers acquired the exclusive national rights for the NHL in Canada, where he remained until he called his last game in February 2019, a regular-season match between the Canadiens and Maple Leafs.

Perhaps even more consequential in the fabric of Canadian society were his calls for seminal moments internationally. He was on the air for Canada’s victory over the United States in the gold medal game of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (video link), as well as the final game of the 1972 Summit Series between the Soviet Union’s national team and an NHL All-Star contingent that was the most-watched sporting event in Canada for decades.

All of us on the PHR team send our deepest condolences to Cole’s family and friends and to all those who benefited from his decades of service to the sport and the broadcasting field.

Ed Chadwick Passes Away At Age 90

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In a somber announcement from the Toronto Maple Leafs, former goaltender Ed Chadwick has passed away at the age of 90. Chadwick is most famous for playing in 140 consecutive regular season games for the Maple Leafs, starting in all 70 games in each of the 1956-57 and 1957-58 seasons.

Chadwick originally started his professional career with Toronto as a backup for Harry Lumley. After Lumley was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks and subsequently sent down to the minor leagues, Chadwick became the full-time starter for the Maple Leafs over the next two years.

Unfortunately, Toronto did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs in either year with Chadwick between the pipes, and would later lose his position as the team’s top netminder after the organization acquired goaltender Johnny Bower in the Inter-League Draft. After ceding the net fully to Bower ahead of the 1959-60 NHL season, Chadwick would only play four more games for the Maple Leafs before being demoted to the Rochester Americans.

His playing career was not finished, however, as Chadwick was traded to the Boston Bruins ahead of the 1961-62 season and managed four games with his new organization. When everything was all said and done, Chadwick finished with a 57-92-35 record over 184 games played, earning a career .901 save percentage and a 2.94 goals-against average.

Although he was not able to capture the Stanley Cup during his playing career, Chadwick has five Stanley Cup rings to his name, earning them all as a scout with the Edmonton Oilers in the mid-to-late 1980s. In fact, Chadwick has had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup a total of three times as a member of the Oilers organization, coming in 1985, 1987, and 1990.

Like many improbable records from the Original Six era, Chadwick’s record of 140 consecutive games with the Maple Leafs as a goaltender will likely stand the test of time. PHR sends its condolences to Chadwick’s family and friends, as well as to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

West Notes: Vilardi, Pietrangelo, Ceci, Strome

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The Jets will welcome a key forward back to their lineup on Saturday against Ottawa as Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun relays that Gabriel Vilardi has been cleared to return.  The 24-year-old has missed the last 15 games due to an enlarged spleen that was diagnosed while treating another injury.  A key part of the return in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade over the summer, Vilardi has been quite impactful when healthy this season, tallying 16 goals and 14 assists in just 38 games.  With Winnipeg losing their last five games, his return will certainly be a welcome one as they look to get back on track and hold onto the third spot in the Central with Nashville closing in quickly.

More from the Western Conference:

  • The Golden Knights revealed (Twitter link) that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has joined up with the team on their road trip. The 34-year-old has missed the last six games due to illness, a big blow to their back end.  Pietrangelo has 32 points and 155 blocks in 62 appearances so far this season while logging a little over 24 minutes per night to lead Vegas in that department.  His eventual return – which could be as soon as Saturday – would be a significant addition as the Golden Knights continue to battle for seeding in the Pacific Division.
  • Oilers defenseman Cody Ceci is listed as a game-time decision for Saturday’s game against Anaheim due to illness, relays Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 30-year-old has played an important role for Edmonton this season, logging just under 20 minutes a night while chipping in with 21 points in 71 games.  If he can’t play, Troy Stecher will likely return to the lineup.
  • The league announced that Ducks forward Ryan Strome was fined the maximum of $5K for a cross-check on Seattle’s Tye Kartye during yesterday’s game. The incident occurred early in the third period with both players receiving penalties on the play, Strome for the cross-check and Kartye for roughing.

Jean-Guy Talbot Passes Away

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Longtime Canadiens defenseman Jean-Guy Talbot passed away Thursday, per an obituary from NHL.com columnist Dave Stubbs. Talbot was 91 years old.

Born in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Québec, in 1932, Talbot was the second-last surviving member of the group of 12 players who remained with the Canadiens during their NHL-record five consecutive championships from 1956 to 1960. Those were the first five full seasons of Talbot’s NHL career – he would go on to win the Cup twice more with Montreal in 1965 and 1966.

Talbot was among the Habs’ many key figures of the late Original Six era, playing over 800 games in a Montreal sweater between 1955 and 1967. While his career-best 1961-62 campaign didn’t result in an eighth Stanley Cup win, Talbot’s five goals, 42 assists, 47 points, and +30 rating in 70 games placed him third in Norris Trophy voting behind the Blackhawks’ Pierre Pilote and the Rangers’ Doug Harvey. He was also named to the year-end All-Star team for the only time in his career.

His Montreal tenure ended when the Canadiens left him unprotected in the 1967 Expansion Draft, where the Minnesota North Stars selected him. He was traded to the Red Wings just four games into the 1967-68 season, though, and switched teams for a second time that year when the Blues claimed him off waivers from Detroit in January. Talbot remained in St. Louis for most of the remainder of his career, closing out his playing days briefly with the Sabres after a trade in 1970-71.

After retirement, Talbot stayed in the game as a coach, taking over behind the Blues bench in 1972-73 after the team fired Al Arbour, who would win four straight Stanley Cups with the Islanders between 1980 and 1983. Talbot resigned from his post with the Blues late in the 1973-74 season and would coach the WHA’s Denver Spurs in 1975-76, which relocated to Ottawa mid-season before folding. He returned to the NHL as the coach of the Rangers in 1977-78 but only spent one season behind the bench.

Talbot resided in Trois-Rivières, Québec, and is survived by his wife of over 70 years, Pierrette, two sons, a daughter, and five granddaughters. PHR extends its deepest condolences to Talbot’s family and the Canadiens organization.

Reggie Savage Passes Away

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Former Capitals and Quebec Nordiques forward Reggie Savage passed away last Sunday after a battle with cancer, his family announced. He was 53 years old.

Savage’s NHL career may have only included a handful of games, but he managed to find his way into the league record books while amassing an extremely respectable minor-league and overseas résumé. Drafted 15th overall by the Capitals after scoring 68 goals in 68 games for the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres, Savage would record nine points in seven games for Canada at the following year’s World Junior Championship, outscoring future NHLers Rod Brind’Amour, Andrew Cassels, Éric Desjardins, Martin Gélinas, and Mike Ricci. It would be another couple of seasons before Savage would get a shot in the NHL, though, playing just one game with the Capitals in 1990-91.

Two years later, Savage found himself back in the NHL again. On November 18, 1992, he became one of five players in league history to score his first NHL goal on a penalty shot, beating Minnesota North Stars netminder Jon Casey. He played 16 games for Washington that year, recording two goals and five points. The Capitals traded him to the Nordiques the following offseason, where he would play a career-high 17 games and score seven points in 1993-94.

Those would be Savage’s last games at the sport’s highest level, although he remained on two-way NHL contracts for various organizations throughout the decade, and his playing career continued until 2005. Savage was an extremely productive force in the AHL, scoring 259 goals and 442 points in 481 games across ten seasons while accumulating 557 penalty minutes. Overseas, he notched 28 points in 31 games for second-tier Swiss National League clubs EHC Biel-Bienne and EHC Visp in 2001-02, also notching two goals in four games for Team Canada at that year’s Spengler Cup. Playing for Italian league club Asiago in the 1998-99 and 2002-03 campaigns, Savage was an explosive scoring threat with 51 goals and 112 points in 67 games.

Savage is one of 11 Black players in Capitals history and will continue to be honored as part of a permanent display that was erected at Capital One Arena early last year. All of us at PHR send our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.

Dunc Wilson Passes Away

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Inaugural Vancouver Canucks starting netminder Dunc Wilson has passed away at age 75, the NHL Alumni Association announced yesterday evening.

Born in Toronto, Wilson made his NHL debut in the 1969-70 campaign, stopping 23 of 26 shots in a lone appearance for the Flyers. The 22-year-old would then be a Canucks expansion draft selection when they entered the league in 1970, splitting crease duties evenly with 37-year-old Charlie Hodge in the franchise’s first season. He took over as the full-time starter for Vancouver in 1971-72, recording the first shutout in franchise history and playing in a career-high 53 games. He remained in Vancouver through 1973, after which he served in backup roles for the Maple Leafs and Rangers through much of the mid-1970s. Just prior to the 1976-77 season, Wilson was traded from New York to the Penguins, where he would post a career-high 18 wins, .906 SV%, 2.95 GAA, and five shutouts, placing him fourth in All-Star team voting among netminders.

Wilson was transferred back to the Canucks early in the 1978-79 campaign, which would be his last playing pro hockey. It was a premature end, in part due to an extensive surgery required to treat skin cancer. Wilson sued the Canucks soon after his retirement, alleging improper treatment of the original mole that caused the cancer, but was unsuccessful.

Like many goalies, Wilson had quite the personality – often described as “rebellious,” he didn’t let his 5-foot-11 frame stop him from appearing in nearly 300 NHL contests, even if smaller goalies were the norm in his playing days. PHR sends our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.

Chris Snow Will Not Wake Up After Brain Injury

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This article has been updated with the link to the Flames’ donation page for ALS research at Canadian institutes. You can contribute to ALS research here.

Calgary Flames assistant general manager Chris Snow will not wake up after sustaining a catastrophic brain injury caused by lack of oxygen due to cardiac arrest Tuesday, his wife, Kelsie, confirmed this morning. Snow, who has been battling ALS since his diagnosis in 2019, is 42 years old.

Snow began his career in hockey as a beat writer for both the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and Boston Globe but got a prominent chance with an NHL team early on in his career. He transitioned directly into a hefty role with the Minnesota Wild, named their director of hockey operations for the 2006-07 season at age 25. He served in that role for the following four seasons, after which he immediately joined the Flames as their director of statistical and video analysis in 2010.

He held that role in Calgary for a full decade before earning a well-deserved promotion to assistant general manager under then-GM Brad Treliving in 2020, less than one year after his ALS diagnosis. This summer, along with promoting Craig Conroy to GM after Treliving’s departure, Snow had the title of vice president of data/analytics added to his AGM title.

Snow was one of the most inspirational figures in the hockey community over his career, beginning with his meteoric ascent to front-office roles all the way through his family’s very transparent approach to handling ALS. Both Chris and Kelsie became very public advocates for ALS research, something Chris participated in via clinical trials multiple times.

Conroy was visibly emotional at yesterday’s press conference introducing Mikael Backlund as the team’s new captain, saying, “It doesn’t seem right not have Snowy here with me.” Multiple reports indicated Treliving, now the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, left the team to be in Calgary yesterday with the Snow family.

PHR and the entire hockey community send their deepest condolences to the Snow family, their friends, and the Flames organizations during this incredibly difficult time.

Brad Maxwell Passes Away

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Longtime Minnesota North Stars defenseman Brad Maxwell passed away Sunday after a battle with lung cancer, the Minnesota Wild said today. He was 66 years old.

Born in 1957 in Brandon, Manitoba, Maxwell played his junior hockey for the WCHL’s New Westminster Bruins before going seventh overall to the North Stars in the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft. As a rookie the following season, he was arguably the best player on a team that managed just 18 wins, recording 47 points in 75 games while hitting 100 penalty minutes, a mark the physical playmaker would hit six more times in his career. He would go on to become a premier defender for parts of nine seasons in Minnesota, spending some later career stops with the New York Rangers, Quebec Nordiques, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Vancouver Canucks.

In his 613-game career spanning from 1977 to 1987, Maxwell spent years quarterbacking the North Stars’ power play and finished with 98 career goals, 270 assists and 368 points. He would add a -83 rating and 1,292 penalty minutes. His final entire season as a North Star, 1983-84, was his best. It was the only season of his career that earned him All-Star consideration, recording career-highs across the board with 19 goals, 54 assists and 73 points in 78 games.

Maxwell would become a mainstay in the Minnesota community after retiring, starting a business and making the state his post-hockey home. He would go on to become the Minnesota NHL Alumni Association president and was responsible for bringing the alumni contingent that represented the North Stars against the Chicago Blackhawks at the contest preceding the 2016 Stadium Series game in Minneapolis between the Wild and Chicago.

We at Pro Hockey Rumors extend our condolences to his family, friends and the Minnesota hockey community.

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