The Montreal Canadiens kept their offseason to-do list moving forward Thursday, signing forward Brett Berard to a one-year, two-way contract. The move comes after Montreal acquired him from the New York Rangers earlier this summer in exchange for prospect William Trudeau.
Berard entered the offseason as a restricted free agent. The Habs extended him a qualifying offer, and now he’s locked in for at least the next year.
The 24-year-old will make $975,000 if he plays in the NHL during the 2026-27 season and $175,000 if he’s in the AHL. That structure gives him a chance to fight for a full-time spot in Quebec while giving the team some salary-cap flexibility.
A Long Road to an NHL Role
Berard hasn’t quite cracked the lineup as an everyday player yet. He’s played parts of two seasons with the Rangers, putting up 10 points in 35 games during 2024-25 and then going scoreless in 13 games with New York in 2025-26.
The East Greenwich, Rhode Island native was a fifth-round pick by the Rangers in the 2020 NHL Draft. He’s put in the work in the American Hockey League, scoring 22 points in 41 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack last season. The year before that, he had 23 points in 30 games.
Berard is listed at 5-foot-9, which means he’s giving up some size. But he plays fast and physical. Those traits have helped him outplay expectations at every level so far.
What He Brings Montreal
The Canadiens have been stockpiling depth players over the last couple years, and Berard fits right in. He kills penalties, he’s versatile, and he plays with the kind of relentless energy that coaches love in a bottom-six forward.
Training camp is still months away, but there’s going to be a real battle for those bottom-six spots. Berard will be competing with a bunch of other young forwards for ice time on opening night. Signing this contract just gets him a foot in the door.
Montreal took a big step forward in 2025-26. They won 48 games, finished third in the Atlantic Division, and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final. They got there by winning back-to-back Game 7s against Tampa Bay and Buffalo.
Things ended badly, with a five-game loss to the eventual champion Carolina Hurricanes. But the Habs have made it clear they’re not a fluke. They’re contenders now.
Berard wants to be part of that when the puck drops. This isn’t the biggest move general manager Kent Hughes makes this summer, but it’s another piece. And Hughes keeps finding ways to make the roster deeper heading into 2026-27.
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