Former Leafs sniper says he's happy to be with Les Canadiens 

ark Zwolinsk. iSports Reporter 

Being back on Canadian soil and playing for a Canadian team was the best turn of events Sergei Berezin could have hoped for this season. 

Injured and wrapped up in a bad situation with the Phoenix Coyotes, Berezin got his wish last month in a trade that brought the ex-Leaf to the Montreal Canadiens. 

Less than a month later, Berezin is back scoring goals on a self-restoration tour with the Canadiens. Even losing 4-1 to his former mates at the Air Canada Centre yesterday was rosy compared to the wilting experience that was Phoenix. 

"Now with the Montreal Canadiens, being back in a Canadian city, there's some excitement in my life again,'' Berezin said after scoring his club's lone goal, and having several other great scoring chances stoned by Curtis Joseph. 

Berezin couldn't have been more dejected with hockey than he was during his tenure with the Coyotes. He was traded last month and had lobbied for a trade for a month prior to his departure. 

That unceremonious ending was not foreshadowed four months earlier at training camp. 

"There were big expectations in Phoenix,'' said Berezin, who came to the Coyotes with a 30-plus goal reputation he had built in four seasons with the Leafs. 

"I trained very hard over the summer; I was in the best shape of my life. Two days into camp, I hurt my knee (twisted ligaments) and I missed the first two months of the season. Everything just went downhill from there.'' 

Berezin landed in Montreal with a club in dire need of a goal scorer. There was also the high promise of working with former Leaf linemate Yanic Perreault and ex-Leaf great Doug Gilmour. 

"There's good forwards here, good chemistry,'' Berezin said. 

"The team has been playing well lately (a pair of 1-0 shutout wins prior to yesterday's loss). We're still having trouble scoring goals, but we have a great goalie and we are playing together as a team.'' 

Jose Theodore continued the spectacular play yesterday against the Leafs that has earned him recognition as a young goalie on the verge of superstardom. 

Having vaulted into his first season as the clear No.1 goalie, Theodore also caught the attention of Pat Quinn and the braintrust with the Canadian Olympic team. 

"We did talk about him. He's a comer, and we all loved what we saw in him,'' Quinn said, adding, he's "a guy you'll see in the future.''