The Canadiens have added another new name to the mix, locking up Brett Berard on a one-year, two-way contract Thursday.
According to PuckPedia, the deal carries an NHL cap hit of $850,000, a minor-league salary of $175,000, and a guaranteed salary of $205,000 for the 2026-27 season.
Montreal only recently got the chance to make this move. Two weeks ago, the club acquired Berard’s signing rights from the New York Rangers in a trade that sent defenseman William Trudeau the other way.
Berard had just finished his three-year entry-level contract, which he signed in March 2023. That pact came with an AAV of $925,000 and a minor-league cap hit of $80,000.
Berard arrives in Montreal looking for a fresh start and a clearer path to becoming a regular NHL player. The Providence College alum was drafted by the Rangers in the fifth round, 134th overall, in the 2020 NHL Draft. He has spent the last three seasons producing well for Hartford, New York’s AHL affiliate, but he hasn’t been able to stick with the big club for long stretches.
He did get into 35 games with the Rangers in the 2024-25 season and put up six goals and 10 points. This past year, though, his NHL time was limited to 10 games, and he didn’t record a point.
At the AHL level, Berard finished this season with six goals and 22 points in 41 games for the Wolf Pack. That was down from his rookie year in Hartford, his only full season there, when he piled up 25 goals and 48 points in 71 games.
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